Bite of the Mafia
by ausumist
Summary: 'she was so extreme' - 'she was like a shadow' - 'she had a nice smile' - 'she bite me' - 'she was undisciplined' - 'she's pregnant' - 'she was never really with them'
1. tummy ache

I have gotten most the chapters written for this story, so I plan to update it every week at the least. Please review, and give me any edvice possible. I'd appreciate it more than you ever know. Hope you give it at least three chapters (mind you I don't dictate your fanfiction life). Bite of the Mafia does not contain pure humor, but Melaine has a ridicules quality about her that may entertain you.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own khr, I'm not **that** awsome.

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><p>Freshly cut lawn. Mourning dew. Pollution.<p>

The smells of Namimori, Japan flowed around the house. Just like most houses it has a green lawn and stone gates. It was positioned on the edge of the suburban area, close to the schools. The architecture of the house was a simple one story with two three rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and a large backyard. A fairly small house compared to the two stories it was surrounded by, but it possessed all the space that a single resident would need.

Entering her new house, she carefully examined the furniture and noticed their antiquity. She suspected they came with the house, and it was so. The sellers had been given a generous offer for the house and everything in it, so Melaine, the new resident, didn't have to go through the trouble of furnishing the house. Instead all she had to do was just live in the house for a few months.

"How should I preoccupy my time here?" Her tone was slightly plaintive.

The man who had accompanied her to the house suggested dominoes. It was a joke to avoid hearing any of her complaints. She rolled her blue eyes and turned away from him, pretending to give the cold shoulder. The man flouted her with a snort—after all these years she would never abandoned him.

"Where do you want the box?" He asked carrying the cumbersome box. It contained clothes and money—nothing else.

Wandering into the kitchen, she answered, "The back room."

He placed it down in said room and even bothered to open the box, unpacking for her. However, he stopped after hearing a knock on the door. Melaine told him not to answer it, they might go away. Ed regretted to inform her that the neighbors had been watching as they got out of his car and walked in the house. She was aware of this, but still denied getting the door.

"Come on," Ed begged. "I can barely speak Japanese. You're fluent in it!"  
>What he said was true, at that moment they were currently speaking German due to the fact it was Ed's primary language and the easiest for him to speak. Melaine had all the time in the world to learn different languages, and mastered Japanese before even entering Japan.<p>

"Fine, but if they try befriend us, I'm slamming the door shut."

Ed grinned at her in appreciation. "Don't worry; they probably just want gossip on the new neighbor."

"We can only hope so."

Melaine opened the door and Ed appeared by her side for moral support. With a false but dazzling pageant girl smile, the new neighbor greeted the man and wife at the door. The Japanese couple was in their late thirties and had a small cake in their hands—Ed could instantly tell it was chocolate despite the white icing. The married couple greeted them back and offered the pastry. Melaine accepted it with graciousness, or at least, that's how it appeared.

"We hope you two enjoy the cake and the new neighborhood."

Melaine replied, "Unfortunately, My friend isn't staying long he only came help me settle in."

The wife said, "What a nice young man!" Her eyes were greedy for information. "Are you staying here by yourself?"

Melaine responded cheerily. "No, it's just me and my unborn child."

The couple's faces looked surprise (teenage pregnancy?), Ed's face looked confused, and Melaine's face looked happy.

Good bye!" she said and then promptly shut the door in their faces.

There was silence.

The silence ended when the whispering from outside the door began and both parties wandering away from the door. The neighbors now had something to talk about and were off the spread the juicy information. They would probably say it was Ed's child just because he was close in age to her and had stood there the whole time with a blank face. It couldn't be helped though; they were all talking too fast for him to understand.

When Ed asked about the conversation Melaine gave a shrug and the vague answer of them greeting her. The new resident plopped herself on the couch ignoring the look the blonde male gave. Ed knew there was more to the story but doubted it was worth prodding into. Instead he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and began to gulp it down. They entered a comfortable quiet, where neither of them said anything and just laid down on the couch.

While resting on the long couch, he could guess what they looked like to that Japanese couple; a young couple that had come from some foreign land together and was eager to start a new life. Ed couldn't help but mentally comment on how this was inaccurate. Melaine was technically French from what he knew, and he was German. They weren't even from the same country, although the married folks had reason for their mistake since they both had light blonde hair and white features.

While in a comfortable position, Ed pondered over the minor details of life while Melaine pondered over the bigger issues of life.

Eventually, both of them feel asleep. They had a custom of doing that, of lying down in the same room and taking a nap. Napping together was a proclivity that they naturally feel into, both of them liked to sleep, and neither of them minded if a person was in the same room they did it. Birds of a feather flock together.

After a nice long two-hour nap, in which all the weariness the friends contained was poured out of them, Ed woke up. His phone had vibrated; it was the alarm telling him to head for the airport soon. Quietly, Ed made a stealthy walk across the room to grab his stuff.

Melaine remained on the couch with her closed eyes.

Scooping up his wallet and keys, he placed them in his pocket and then headed for the door.

Still, Melaine appeared to be passed out on the couch.

Ed grasped the door's handle tightly and began to pull.

"Sneaking out after we slept together? How cold~." Melaine teased.

Ed turned around and saw his friend sitting up and watching him with a hidden expression. Her eyes were ablaze with a light blue that had a silver glint in them. That's one thing Ed would always coin her on; having blue eyes with a silver slash in the out/downward corners of her eyes. He thought it was creepy.

Ed scratched the side of his face. "I didn't want to wake you. Sorry."

"The vibration from your pants woke me."

Ed's faced got a little hot. He was a modest guy.  
>"Stop saying stupid stuff!"<p>

She giggled at him and then waved before lying back down. Ed was her favorite person in the world most of the time; he was the only person she genuinely, completely liked.

"Good bye, Ayumu Hoshiko." Ed joked.  
>He opened the door but then paused before leaving. "I don't know how you created such a name."<p>

She didn't give him a response but he wasn't looking for one either. As Ed left, Melaine remembered the name 'Ayumu Hoshiko.'

_The idea of snapping her neck appeared delightful but she didn't do it, this way raised less suspicions. A coroner would write down suicide instead of homicide.  
>With a loud sigh, the Melaine plopped herself down to the unconscious blonde. She snapped opened up a cell-phone and presses ten digits. The small numbers lit up as she pressed them. There were two rings and then an answer.<br>The voice spoke immediately, "Is the job done?"  
>"She has consumed the right number of pills; it should be a good hour before Miss Ayumu's death."<br>The other line buzzed a bit before responding. "The drive to the Northern region will take much longer than that. I'm coming in to get her."  
>"Good. Come back before the family gets home and realized their daughter is missing. I'd suggest speeding."<br>The door opened up and revealed a teenager with raven black hair shutting her phone. There was a glance at the girl, lying in her pink room, tricked into dying. "I'll be back before they get home tomorrow. The family won't know anything."_

Melaine frowned; Ed would be upset if he found out what she did. Oh well, when life gives you lemon you make lemonade. And that what Melaine did. Life gave her a dead ringer and she made a false identity.

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><p><strong>2 ½ months later…<strong>

The room was cold and completely white; she couldn't stand the smell of sickness and blood. So much blood it was tempting to go make sure that they were alright. However, she was slightly turned off by how similar to an asylum this place looked like.

Why is it that hospitals have a tendency to look the same as an institution?

Melaine refocused her attention to Dr. Sato, who although had proven helpful, the temptation to tease her was ever so sweet. With a willow figure and innocent brown eyes, she looked very cute for a doctor of thirty-two.

Melaine sat on the examining table, observing little things in the room. There was nothing unusual, nothing interesting. She was there for her monthly check-up, which shortly would turn into a twice a month check-up. Melaine smirked at her doctor; she took this whole thing so seriously—pathetic.

(Sigh)

With a dramatic roll of her neck, light blonde hair fell behind her shoulders. Listening to the doctor talk was almost as dreadfully boring as hearing a teacher talk—one reason why Melaine would never play school.

"Understood." Melaine replied to something Dr. Sato said.  
>There was a smile from the medical professional, indicating Melaine had given the right answer.<p>

The lecture went on again; it was an incessant murmur of drivel to the patient's ears. Melaine glanced over to a piece of shiny metal that had glinted from the sunlight, what she saw was her own gaze—more specifically, her eyes. They are a translucent blue with a silver slash at the outside corners of each of them.

Kana (the doctor) seemed to go on and on about the youthful blonde's health. Everything was perfectly fine, but she had to be careful with her body and other such nonsense. The girl nodded at all the right times and put on a display of emotions to go along with Kana's speech. After a few minutes, Dr. Sato had finished promptly and gave herself an accomplished nod at how amazing her communication skills were; it's all too easy to convince someone of their own superiority.

"Good bye Melaine!" Kana unnecessary shouted before the said patient shut the door.

Glad to be out of Dr. Sato's office and in a hurry, she carelessly let someone knock into her. Melaine heard the young boy shout "Sorry" but he didn't stop running; his thoughts were full of worries for some kid name Gokudera. Gazing at the back of his head and seeing spikey brown hair, Melaine couldn't help but feel as if she's had seen him before in past life.

Pulling her thoughts from the boy, she kept walking— all too aware of a clandestine presence that had suddenly appeared. With a slight shock she realized it was an Arcobaleno. What in hell's name was one of them doing here?

Carelessly sauntering out of the hospital, she tried not to embrace the thrill of excitement she got. Everything Melaine worked for could be ruined; she might be in more danger, and could destroy her closest ones credibility and trust. Everything was in such a fragile position now, only a slight push and it would all come shattering down. Just one little push…

A phone vibrated in her pocket. It was from Karin, a warning to get control of myself.

She enjoyed the rest of the day immensely more than she should have. Melaine couldn't help but have a grin on her face; Nanimori had more danger then she had been lead on to believe:

This might just be the perfect place for her to stay after all.

The next day was spent on the computer looking over her false information. They had already arranged for her fake parents to have their memories slightly modified so that they could send her to Nanimori. It wasn't the easiest task finding someone who was her age and had an exact likeness of her. In fact, it was impossible.

So Karin had to personally tweak the memory of any intimate family members. They would only have pictures of their real daughter so no one outside would question it. There were only small differences between Ayumu and Melaine, so it would be a few months before anyone got suspicious. That was all the time Melaine needed to use the name.

She could have just hid in a safe house, but the idea of being trapped that long was ridiculous—she had refused to let that happen to her. Melaine didn't care what the circumstances were. Ed was pretty insistent on it, but Karin intervened by commenting on how she would just hinder their plan on purpose then. Of course, he called Melaine twisted again.

She was going over it so many times, and it was truly flawless. As if she was this Ayumu Hoshiko, a fifteen year old girl that enjoyed ice skating, popsicles, and Algebra—not the girl who killed her. Melaine let the thought echo in her head for a while; she would not be introducing herself with that name.

_"A few of these and the pain shall be numbed for a while." She told her while spilling a few of the small medicines in her hand. The sobbing teenager had been taking quite few of them before this and just as she said, they always did the trick._

She took a deep sigh and laid her head on the desk. Melaine was bored enough to begin traveling down memory lane. Her thoughts started to wander to **him**. He was never afraid of her, but then again he was never afraid of anything. He could be such an idiot at times. 'It is entirely his fault that I—'

Her heart almost skipped a beat. She felt some kind of small energy. Such a calm and tranquil energy, it was so pure she wanted it for herself. The effect would not be so strong on her, if she hadn't been taken by surprise. After a moment Melaine got a hold of herself and then went straight for the energy. The energy wasn't big or strong, but it was so pure.

As she entered some place called 'Kokuyo Land', her attention was broken by the strong scent of blood. It was smeared everywhere, and it was apparent that the person who did this had dazzling potential or strength, her curiosity was increased dramatically.

Melaine wandered into the forest part of Kokuyo land so that no one would see her. These people obviously aren't from the normal variety; one might be able to recognize her.

She could feel a clashing of power from inside the building, but remained outside. She could sense the presence of people coming, and like predicted people did come. She recognized them as Vongola medics by the Vongola crest they wore and the medical equipment they had on.

As they entered the building, the fighting seemed to stop. Melaine wasn't sure of what had just taken place, but her curiosity was alive as she watched teenagers getting carted out in stretchers. She recognized the boy that ran into her at the hospital as well. He was walking out of the building with the Arcobaleno and then suddenly kneeled over.

Listening in on the conversation of the Vongola medics, she learned that his name was Tsunayoshi Sawada, and was the tenth generation Vongola Boss Candidate.

Melaine smiled; this would be the perfect place for her to stay after all.


	2. nervousness

Here is chapter two! enjoy! Thank my beta **theallmightydee9009** and thank me for re-editing it. lol. My life is crazy, but this story should be completed before October is over and I don't intned to ever give it up. Review! Don't a be a jerk and just do it!  
><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.<strong> If I did someone would die in the story, just for the sheer epicness of it.

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><p>Over the past month, Melaine observed Tsunayoshi Sawada and his associates in their natural habitats (aka: Namimori). It was a bit amusing to see how Sawada cringed at the actions of everyone except Yamamoto Takeshi, a popular and non-mafian kid. With this observation, she came to the conclusion that Sawada was a critical and ungrateful jerk who didn't deserve Gokudera Hayato. She had also come to the conclusion that Gokudera Hayato may be the most fascinating man in the world.<p>

During her month of observation, the detail of what happened in Kokuyo Land was revealed to her—there was fight between some prison escapes from Vindice prison and the future mafia generation of the Vongola.

It was an unexpected surprise, when she found out this information. Yes, she knew of the great assassin Reborn, but the curious blonde had never known he worked for the Vongola despite that it is common news to everyone in the underworld.

Instead of dropping the matter like any person with the common sense, Melaine pursued more information about the incident and Sawada Tsunayoshi. The great Vongola may demand fear and respect from everyone, but Melaine had never been someone who follows the trends. Also, she couldn't get over their name to feel anything but humored.

However, while learning more about the young Decimo candidate, she stumbled upon someone even more amusing: Gokudera Hayato. The rebellious and social unable teenager was like a turtle lying on his back. You find it amusing since the turtle is struggling so hard to d0 something which would be easy for you, but you feel a shred of sympathy because it's simply pathetic.

Still, Melaine found plenty of time to enjoy the other acquaintances of the Vongola candidate, whom she found out about from eavesdropping and stalking. They were all very different people, and the only way in which they were all alike, was for the fact that they were all idiots.

There was a brutal vigilante, a guy from hell, Veal, an extreme boxer, one stereotypical Japanese teenager, tuna, and Gokudera Hayato.

Although, Melaine still had not found an opportunity to communicate or meet any or all of these acquaintances though. The presence of a certain baby had stopped her from doing so. Melaine knew better than to be caught by the Arcobaleno unless she wished for word to spread of her, well being alive.

While walking into her house, all of these thought began to run wildly in Melaine's head. Too wildly, they were out of control and she was seized by panic.

So many things can go wrong, and getting caught and having her society realize that she is indeed alive, would be the worst fate for her right now.

She would be too weak to fight them; she would be too vulnerable to rely on herself.

In her current condition there are too many unknown factors of the future to be able and plan one in a dire situation.

She might die.

Then the moment passed, like a fluttering wind. She was then calm again and sure of herself. From the moment her little 'fit' had started, to the end, Melaine had yet to take the full step into her dwelling.

The blonde identity thief found it amusing that she had a small panic attack. Those were exceedingly rare for her and came quite randomly. The last time she had one was when she meeting Ed, all those years ago. That was when he started calling her twisted.

Too bad he had never stopped calling her twisted.

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><p>The next day, Melaine woke up rather early. It was nearly eleven o'clock (early for her anyway), and the sun was shining brilliantly in the sky. White sheets half covered her scantily dressed body, and blond hair scattered around his shoulders.<p>

There was a long groan as Melaine rose and her eyes met with the sun's harsh rays penetrating the window. Something had woken her up and she realized after a few moments. There was a significant presence in town, one that was radiating extreme bloodlust, and it wasn't Hibari Kyoya. In a rush to get up, she mistakenly faced the sun directly. Her eyes shut reflexively.

Then a slight annoyance hit her: something actually forced her to have a reaction she didn't want.

On impulse she search for the thickest blankets in the house and covered the blinds with them. They were hung like curtains, very thick and big curtains. The house became very dim due to the walls of cloth, but Melaine's sight was better in the current lighting than the one before anyways. Absent mindedly, she wondered where all of those thick blankets came from. The thought was killed and replaced with one telling her that the killer intent was getting farther away; she raced to throw her clothes on, a pair of jeans, a shapeless shirt, and two stylish black boots. Then she left her one story house and locked the door on the way out.

On her way to the radiating murderous aura, she noticed Gokudera, Sawada, and Yamamoto heading down a street to Sawada's house.

The trio should have been at school but was skipping due to Sawada's stress about his father, and he needed a mental health day. Melaine didn't know this but found the moment as a good opportunity for them to meet her. The baby was nowhere in sight. She headed towards them just as Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Sawada were headed towards the latter's house.

While the trio of friends were walking, Yamamoto wondered what kind of guy Tsuna's dad was. Well it didn't really matter to him, as long as Tsuna cheers up. He knew what it felt like to be so troubled. He had tried to kill himself once, after all.

While they were walking down the streets, a voice called them out.

"Excuse me! I think one of you dropped a notebook." Yamamoto turned around to see a foreign looking girl with the object in her hand.

"That's the Tenths!" Gokudera shouted; his face was full of suspicion.

"Oh yeah, it is." Tsuna said finally noticing it. It was good that she found it before they had left, and it had become lost. She walked toward them with a kind smile and handed over the notebook to Tsuna.

"Be careful, you never know when things disappear until after it has happened."

"Thanks, sorry for inconveniencing you." Tsuna said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head; Yamamoto noticed his cheeks were a little pink. Yamamoto understood, the girl was very pretty, and she had a nice smile. Yamamoto also knew how the attraction of foreign girls.

"Tenth you don't need to apologize!"

"Why don't you join us?" Yamamoto asked cheerfully. The girl had a look of surprise on her face but then it melted into a kind rejection. Her eyes were trained on Gokudera's face in a sort of adoring way.

"I can't impose like that, but maybe next time." She answered.

"I told you not to invite idiots!" Gokudera growled at him. Yamamoto gave a sheepish smile; if he had listened to him then nobody would be invited. The girl just laughed again. Looking at her closely, she was around their age, maybe a bit older. Was she skipping school too?

"Listen I've got to go, but we will hang out another day." She finished before going off to somewhere else. Yamamoto doubted they would meet again.

Once Melaine was out of their sight, the girl let out a bit of laughter. The three idiots were even better in person! None of them had noticed the note book being slid out of Sawada's bag (it was nearly sticking out too) or that she immediately handed it over to Sawada without any hint it was him. Oh well, safe for another day. She would have conversed with them longer, but the girl was beginning to go crazed hungry despite having a full dinner last night. There was sure to be a shop around here that didn't have any seafood, or rice.

The murderous presence could wait, her hunger always came first.

Strolling through the town she came upon a McDonalds. The fact Melaine had to fish out 600 yen for the prices of a double cheeseburger in Japan was ridiculous, but she didn't want to waste the effort looking elsewhere for a meal. She paid the damn 600 yen and ate her food in peace.

It didn't even taste that good.

Not even a whole minute after leaving the rip-off establishment, there was a noticeable crash in the area. It wasn't even a full thirty yards away from her.

There was mass panic of course, there always is in these situations. The panicking bystanders made it difficult to get closer to the scene. Eventually, she just started to shove them out of the way, causing the bystander to fall down and get sampled on by the heard of people running away.

When arriving, she was given a dark sensation at the mess some long haired man—who she remembered—made. The destruction of this innocent town was a hideous sight, and she loved watching.

Especially, that overpriced McDonalds. It would have been her personal bliss for that to happen. Sadly such a thing did not happen—yet.

Dynamite was thrown into the air exploded. It created a loud [boom] and a thick smokescreen. The black smoke cleared to reveal Gokudera and Yamamoto ready to defend Tsunayoshi from the assassin, to the bitter end. Their eyes showed that they would not accept defeat, and Melaine knew then that they were idiots.

"Lay a hand on that person, and I won't let you go free." Gokudera stated with a serious aura.

"Yeah something like that. I'll be your opponent," spoke Yamamoto. 'Did he seriously just say that?' Melaine questioned, letting out a chuckle.

"Gokudera- kun! Yamamoto!" Tsunayoshi cried out, relieved. This kid thought that they could handle a guy with long hair at their current level? Everyone knew that a man with hair longer than his back was Superbi Squalo, one of the most skilled assassins alive, who belonged solely to the Varia. Melaine put her chips on the Varia side for this battle. Poor Gokudera, to damage such a lovely face is truly a shame.

Squalo warned them that if they went against them they'd die. She thought it was unnecessary of him; killing them would have been more efficient—more professional too.

Gokudera innocently assumed he could beat him, and Yamamoto arrogantly assumed the same. In a choice of ignorance, Yamamoto decided to go up against him. He thought it was best since he was sword user just like the opponent. The baseball lover rushed in, and Squalo did the same with his long, silver hair fluttering behind him. They clashed swords and Squalo immediately realized that his opponent had no skills whatsoever.

With a powerful smack, Yamamoto was easily beaten him left battered up on the ground.

'Kid deserved it for being so arrogant.' Melaine thought.

Gokudera got prepared to attack, but Squalo was already in his face cutting off the ends of his dynamite and harshly kicking him in the stomach, with such force that he was knocked out. Melaine was glad that he wasn't too injured. It would have been a true shame for him to die so early.

"Gokudera- kun!" Tsunayoshi yelled.

Melaine couldn't believe what she heard; it was too cold. How could Sawada refer to his right hand man with that honorific but simply call Yamamoto without any. She never realized Tsunayoshi was such a terrible person, but this did bring her back to the fact Yamamoto is the only one he doesn't criticize.

Squalo, an assassin for the Varia, made quite a ruckus as he beat the middle school boys and took the box containing some rings. A bit prideful' she thought, 'but nothing that makes him dislikable.' He was a fairly good swords man, and for a mafia man it was obvious that he had a diversity of style. She knew that he went around beating other swordsman; trying to be the best of them all.

He went in to kill Gokudera but was stopped by heavily injured kid who reeked of B.O. The first she heard him speak and she felt her right eyebrow rise. That dialect was one she hadn't heard in a very long time. Also, the kid didn't speak it correctly, but she let that go.

The sweaty kid was quickly beaten, and the only thing that stopped Squalo from killing him was Tsunayoshi in dying will mode, if she remembered the term correctly. But it wasn't the same power as before. This was more like when a fish flopped around wildly trying to live. What she had felt was more of a mother sacrificing herself for her child; the decisions were made with absolute certainty.

This was more amusing than alluring.

If Tsunayoshi had any common sense then he would have known that it's the rings Squalo wanted—and chucked them, as a way of buying time for him and his friends to escape. Of course that didn't happen, but Sawada was saved by boss of the Chiavarone family, who had come from practically nowhere.

The Italian man flashed a pearly white smile.

Obviously, the assassin recognized him too by calling him the 'Bucking Horse'. It was the name Melaine knew him by as well. The secret interloper was aware that Tsunayoshi had connections, but none to this extent. Weren't the Chiavarone known to be the third most powerful family in the mafia? She had been watching him a month and never knew he had such supporters. Melaine looked onward as Dino protected Tsunayoshi with his mafianess and managed to get him out of the dangerous situation alive. Squalo took off with the rings and left without further more confrontation. He had achieved his goal; there is no point in striking up a fight with the Vongola's favorite ally.

The Bucking Horse and Reborn, the Arcobaleno, left with the injured and unconscious Tsunayoshi to a hospital. Before leaving, Reborn insulted Gokudera and Yamamoto (who had quickly recovered) for being weak. The insult had to hurt a lot, especially coming from a baby. Melaine watched the boys, the middle school boys who were angry for being so powerless compared to Squalo. She couldn't imagine what it is like to be so weak.

The stalker left, making sure to set fire to the McDonalds on her way back. That cheeseburger was not worth the 600 yen, even if it did come with fries. She wouldn't be doing any business with them for quite a while, not until they changed their prices at least.

* * *

><p>When Melaine went to check on Gokudera the next morning, she found that he was at an unused hospital which was now being occupied by the Chiavarone Boss and some of his subordinates.<p>

Yamamoto, the baby, and Tsunayoshi was all so there talking about the rings. Specifically, how there was seven of them and what they all represented. She already knew the attributes of sun, rain, storm, cloud, mist, lighting, and sky, it was commonly known for those in the mafia profession, and though she herself was not part of it, she did have enough associates in the illegal organized crime business to know about these things.

After the explanation, Yamamoto declined having the ring because of baseball. For some reason, just because he couldn't wear rings while paying, he can't accept the ring. Of course this action irked Gokudera, who considered it the greatest honor to be chosen as Tsunayoshi's storm guardian. Sawada was rejoicing over Yamamoto's decision to refuse the ring and encouraged him more by telling that the long haired assassin would come back to fight him for the ring.

Of course Yamamoto then accepted the ring as his happily and rushed out the door to go train. The guy was such a sore loser that he was willing to put himself in danger as to win against the assassin. Gokudera also rushed out of the building in hopes of finding a trainer and getting stronger, but he had never denied the offer to begin with and Sawada knew that there was nothing he could do.

Both boys (Yamamoto and Gokudera) had rushed past Melaine on their way out, both had done so without knowing. She was been standing next to a very tall green plant which hid her for the most part. Middle schoolers know day are way too caught up in their own lives to notice anything else.

Melaine heard the loud voice before she saw who it belonged to. "Extreme training!"

She looked behind her and saw an extremely sunny guy.

"Right on!" She shouted holding her had up for an intense high five.

He slapped her hand fiercely and ran into the store at full speed. It had been Ryohei Sasagawa, a giant idiot who often interacted with Tsunayoshi and company. She put her chips on the idea of him becoming the sun guardian.

A smirk graced her features as she remembered the time he punch a wall when shadow boxing. After that, she went back to the time when she saw him drunkenly punch a wall for no reason. Both times had been extreme moments.

Sensing the presence of an Arcobaleno, Melaine left the private hospital. It isn't fun if the game ends early.

While disappearing into the crowded streets of Namimori, her eyes scanned for anything out of place. There was nothing and without any sign of guilt, the arsonist walked by the burned McDonalds. Melaine decided that she would see the result of the guardians efforts later, until then she had inferno related protesting to do. 600 yen for a damn cheeseburger and fries? Preposterous.

* * *

><p>In the past week there have been several McDonald's arsons all over the Honshu Region of Japan. At this point in time there are no leads as to who the culprit is. The police are currently working with the infuriated McDonalds Corporation to solve the investigation and stop the mysterious arsonist. Earlier today, Tim Fenton, the McDonalds' President of the Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa branches released a statement offering reward for any information about the criminal or the crimes. People are encouraged to call in if they have any knowledge about these crimes.<p>

On the seventh day of these arsons Melaine received a strange phone call:

"Stop burning down the McDonalds'."

"McDonalds need to learn that they have overpriced meals." Melaine argued,

"Stop attracting attention. And you should head back to Namimori, the Varia arrives today." Karin told her exasperated.

Melaine whined. "Aww… I'm going to miss it"

"You sound like a whiney brat right now. Bye."

The moment Karin clicked the 'end' button, Melaine headed for nearest unoccupied car. She punched the window in, and unlocked the car. She brushed the glass away, and blood started to bleed out of her hand. She took her time to lick the blood off her hand, making sure not a drop as wasted.

She started up the car, and drove off at full speed. Her intention was to make it back before the Varia and Tsuna's friend had a confrontation—something she didn't want to miss. Of course when you're speeding in a stolen car some people tend to notice you.

For example somehow Melaine ended up in a high-speed chase with the cops and was searching for an escape route.

She had on baggy clothes and a hat that hid her hair. The clothes were thanks to the fact she used them when burning down McDonalds. But when she couldn't shake the cops, it was obvious that her only option was to drive it into a forest. So right before the car crashed, Melaine jumped out of the car, barely landed on her feet, and stumbled onto one bent knee. The car however, was destroyed beyond repair by a thick tree. Sacrifices had to be made.

Rushing through the forest, eventually she lost the cops and came upon a big building she recognized was close to Namimori. She had wasted two hours with the chase, and another one and a half running through the forest. Melaine wasn't sure when the confrontation would begin, but dark was starting to settle, and she knew that the deadline was at least midnight.

She would not miss it.

Melaine looked like wreck, and when she stole a cab from some young mom, her appearance did not get any better. "Namimori" She told the driver. On the ride she managed to pull herself together a little by ditching her ripped jacket and pulling her knotted hair into a pony tail. She could pass as someone that went for a hike.

The drive was less than an hour, and she could feel the murderous presence of the infamous Varia before she even arrived in Namimori. Desperate, she kicked the door open and jumped forward, landing on her feet, and kneeling down on one knee, with her hands on the ground to be safe.

It was an intense moment. The taxi driver just stared.

Melaine took off toward the center point of killer intent just as she came upon it, the blood lusting vibes began to depart from each other. The Varia had taken off to some luxurious hotel, and the Namimori guardians were all heading home. After everything Melaine did to get here, she had actually missed it.

Melaine went home, slightly tired by her bad day. The news reporters were going on about the McDonalds incidents and that there was something wrong with traffic. She flipped the channel to anything that didn't remind how terrible this day was, despite her major McDonalds protest going well. She breathed in and down on the sturdy couch. She was overcome with the salvation of sleep, even though her nocturnal side disagreed with it.

It was strange for her to sleep through the night like she did, but for some reason she did so peacefully and even slept through the entire day. When she awoke a nine pm the next day, she carried on in a predictable manor. First she showered and changed, and then she went over toward the Sawada residence, staying in the shadows. Melaine could feel that Tsunayoshi was in his room, just as accurately as she could feel the ground below her feet.

It was easy to shovel through his mind, it was like trying to remember an answer on a test but this was a new test—in other words, a new person. The number of times she invades a person's head, is like how many time she is taking the same test; every person is a different test, but it gets easier to go through a mind you have before. Not that it isn't easy to gain access anyway. In the end, it all comes down to will power, and her unique body.

Nearly everything about her was heightened by fifteen. Her strength, speed, looks, immunity, vision, flexibility, instinct, hearing, taste, percentage of brain used, affinity with the earth, and her sense of smell. All of those little things that make up more of life than most realize. But of course nature must balance everything else, so there is only several handfuls of them left. They are meant to balance out the human population, and one of them equals around a fifty million humans. Though nature didn't take into account the idea of self-destruction, and because of that their number is half what it should be.  
>Though they can also be called natures greatest mistakes, for it did not take into account that should they stop doing their natural function, what would happen to them. There are very few things that can kill them, but unlike humans, they will not get sick—only die by murder or suicide—both equally hard. If it were to happen, like it had so many times before, they might die out to the extremely low fertility rate. There comes once a certain period in their life, which lasts only a few decade, that their fertility is almost half that of a human. It is the only chance of becoming with child since operations won't work on them. Too bad that there is no warning as to when that time may come. It is random, and the only thing required is that both of the mates are physically old enough to bare, and give children. Chance, though it is said if one mate comes fertility period arrives then the others shall too. Likely, but not proven.<p>

So breaking into one's mind is not the hardest thing to do, especially for Melaine. She understood that she had missed last night, and then knew that there would be a battle between guardians today. A wistful expression was made at the high tension memories that Tsunayoshi possessed. She would have given his life to be there for it. This is that damn McDonalds entire fault. She was sure of it. 600 yen.

With the idea of killing two hours, Melaine went to the hospital knowing her plan of action. Arriving at that bland establishment, her thoughts went back to insane asylums: not her favorite of places. She wasn't sure why but something about crazy people rubbed her the wrong way. She felt a strong urge to set them on fire or push them into a hole. Either way, when she entered the hospital, it was not completely for the luxury of doing so. The nurses were starting to lock the doors, but hesitated for a moment when they saw her.

"You are Dr. Sato's patient aren't you?" Asked one of the female nurses, Melaine recognized her as Kana's nurse.

"Something like that..." Melaine answered peeking inside the hospital. They weren't kind and friendly like most think nurses are. At best they were polite and strict. But the ones in front of her seemed gullible.

"What are you doing here?" The other one asked bluntly.

"I left my backpack." Melaine immediately answered.

"Come get it tomorrow, no visitors are allowed inside after nine"

"I left 500,000 yen in it," Melaine explained.

"What?" Screamed the nurses simultaneously.

"Yeah, it's the Yakuza's. I need it right now." Melaine told them urgently, and the nurses step aside in a moment of confusion. Melaine took the chance to rush in the hospital, at a speed that the bystanders could see. However, it was still faster the nurses who ran after her. She ditched them by pushing the elevator to floor three, than running out of it and using the stairs to go to floor five. Once she got up to that floor, she headed for an office and grabbed a random doctor coat on the back of someone's chair and put it on.

"Hello," she greeted a new nurse that had finally turned around. The brown haired women gave a slight smile, but went back to her business. Melaine sat down at a computer, and her fingers started typing away. She wasn't a fan of technology, but she always made an exception for five certain electronics, and a computer (along with its equipment) was one of them.

Quickly she scrolled through files and secretly searched for an update list of patients who come in. She found it, but there was a small problem. It needed a password. Melaine looked through her fake co-workers head, and found it. "J2Gh6for2k." With a tap of her fingers she gained access into the files: a regularly updated list, which had a twenty-four/seven connection the hospital. This would tell who entered the hospital, and what the extents of the injuries. "Where is a flash drive? Dr. Sato needed to me to copy some files for her, before they're deleted."

The nurse handed her one without even looking her way. Quickly she copied the file, slipped it into the pocket of her new doctor jacket, and then left without a word. Melaine kept the jacket and had successfully burned some time.

She arrived to the Namimori School a little late. Now Ryohei and the flamboyant man (she recognized him as the Varia's sun guardian) were about to step into a very big boxing ring, caged with thick metal poles. Her eyes watched Gokudera, who was blushing in embarrassment at being forced to form a group circle. The secret stalker liked that expression on him as well.

Once Ryohei and his opponent had stepped into the ring, the boxer stripped himself of his shirt and got into a offensive stance. This seemed to be a bad idea, for then the other guy did the same. The flamboyant guy was hitting on Ryohei and dissing boxing at the same time. Then strong lights went on, and Melaine hissed as it irritated her eyes. She closed them, and turned her head away. Melaine could keep up with the battle just by listening.

She heard the swishing of air from a thin figure, and then someone was hit so hard that they were slammed into the side of the cage, and their skin fizzled from contact. She heard Ryohei's cries of pain. Then with more swishing of the air, there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh again, but not nearly as loud as the one before it, then there was the sound of feet landing perfectly. More swishing air, the metal clanging against something. She caught the scent blood. Thanks to the announcement of watchers, it was made know that Lussuria had a metal plate on his left knee, and Ryohei was dehydrating fast under the lights. They also noticed the Ryohei had only been punching with his right hand, and was now going to turn the situation around.

Then after an intense feel of aura, the sound of someone grunting, and the swish of air, the lights shattered and fell to the ground below. Melaine could look without over stressing her eyes. The moments she turned around, she saw that Ryohei was sparkling with salt.

She watched as he shined from the salt, Lussuria seemed strained by the idea of such a powerful fist, but the young prince told him to look closer, and when he did, he finally noticed the salt crystals on his body. It struck as strange when the prince, who shouldn't be able to see because of his hair, noticed the crystals; when Lussuria who was right in front of him didn't. That kid must be able to see the smallest of things, probably things that most don't.

Lussuria blew the salt off Ryohei with a punch and broke more lights with it. Lussuria did a little footwork, and although Ryohei's eyes could follow it, he was only able to punch the metal plate and cause himself major damage. After words form his soft sister, he got up and this time broke Lussuria's plate with his punch. It was extreme…ly awesome.

Everything went accordingly and it was no shock when she saw the machine throw multiple weapons, all of which hit Lussuria and nearly killed him, but still she could sense life in him. The young guardians seemed shocked at the Varia erasing, but she suppose they don't know how the world works yet, especially the mafia world. It was then announced that the next battle would be for the thunder ring, to which there as a bit of a fuss, but the Cervello disappeared, as did the Varia taking there defeated member with them. The young Sasagawa sibling rushed back to where her beloved brother was, and bought into their story of the sumo match, she questioned nothing, not the least bit suspicious in Ryohei's appearance.

Melaine glanced at the full sun ring before leaving; seeing it made memories play in her head again. She had never met any other sun guardian than Ryohei, but she had met a specific sky boss.


	3. sheepish

The third chapter has been revised, and re-edited. I like it a quite a bit more than the original version, but the varia arc is still very rough for me. There is so much going on and so much I really don't want to write, yet I do. Because for some crazy reason I like to write. Thank you my beta **Captain9009**, you're a dream despite the lack of sugar, but that makes you even better in my book- sometimes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

* * *

><p>Rain shot from the sky, beating down on the humans below it. There was an absence of light, which gave a dark atmosphere, and angry clouds let out screams of electricity. The air was thick, and most of Namimori's residents took shelter in their houses, but those in the mafia profession made their way to the lightning match.<p>

Of course there was a few not in the mafia that walked directly beneath furious rain, but even they were arriving at the lightning match. They were mere spectators, watching two sides of the mafia clash against each other in seven different fights.

Those spectators included Melaine, Rokudo Mukuro, Joshima Ken, and Kakimo—guy with the glasses. The latter two were unimportant, mere lackeys if you will, but Mukuro and Melaine, they were not so trivial. Both of them were wanted criminals, both of them were hiding secrets, both of them shared a hatred of McDonalds, and most importantly, both of them had a strange interest in Sawada Tsunayoshi.

They themselves were perfectly aware of why the boy caught their attention, it was his genuine good nature, but they reacted to it in severely different ways.

Mukuro looked upon the boy with what was almost curiosity; he wanted to see if the innocent kid could truly change this wicked world. With all the vileness it possessed, the chances of helping even the minority were slim. He did not doubt him, nor did he believe in him, but it was more along the lines of maybe. If it was this kid then maybe there is a chance of good, but maybes are never definite.

Tsunayoshi Sawada was a character from a game, and Mukuro was interested in seeing if he would beat all the levels.

However, for Melaine, it was not a matter of whether he did 'good' in the world, but the fact that he would and did. Melaine was injected with envy when she saw him. It was not malicious, but occasionally when she glanced upon him, she felt herself longing to be like that. To have a conscience even in the most trying of times, and to care for one's friends before yourself—it made her wish to not be indifferent about the wreckage she causes, and to not feel guiltless for letting others deal with her consequences.

Tsunayoshi Sawada was a good person, and Melaine was jealous because she would never be.

However, the moment passes and she goes on, watching others for her own amusement, and playing with danger when the situation is right. Mukuro sensed that. He knew not of her subconscious desires but well of her dark ones.

He sensed her there at the lighting battle—he felt the presence of a hidden monster. He gave his soft laugh at the idea that some other dangerous force found itself drawn to future mafians. He also felt curious at the fact, he could not see, nor enter her head. She was like a shadow, and he could only guess who the shadow was.

Melaine looked up to the storming sky and stared at the roof of a Namimori's school building. Lighting had been hitting the same place over and over again. Melaine knew that it was because of the metal poles sticking out of the roof. Her assumption was that they were most likely infused with negative ions to attract all the bolts to their location. She could also easily assume this was set up by the Cervello who, she suddenly remembered, she had a great hatred for.

The Cervello's presence made the whole ordeal a little bitter to Melaine, but she was able to look past them and at her main goal—watching people knock the shit out of each other. Considering who the contestants were this time, she declared that the Veal done for. Melaine didn't care for the outcome of any of the battles; all the fun comes from watching them.

The droplets were deflected by a bright red umbrella with two golden arches. Her legs were not fully protected from the wet weather, and she found the bottom of her jeans soaked within with minuets, but the cold water did not frustrate her.

It was quite the opposite; she enjoyed the chill of a cold rainy night in the city. The smell of it was best—this was the scent of Aleksander. The thought of him allowed her to bask in a warm happiness, but even that did not ruin her unorthodox intentions. Despite any misfortunes to others, Melaine knew that she would enjoy this joke of a battle.

Most of the candidate guardians accumulated in visible sight and were greeted by the Cervello. The blonde, marionettes explained to them every detail about tonight's battle. The Veal did not grasp the concept of danger in this fight. In fact, the little Veal was completely oblivious to the weight of the situation. His lax and unaware nature worried Sawada and angered his right hand man.

The result of this was Gokudera writing "dumb cow" on the veal's horns. Melaine was helpless against Gokudera's parental charm; he would be such a great father one day.

The Cervello then made them aware of the hideous and terribly dressed man that Melaine recognized as uncool. Her eyes then watched Tsunayoshi, who gave her that abnormal feeling again, as he talked to the veal. He insisted that it was wrong to have such a young kid fight, and that the veal shouldn't fight. The Veal simply replied that he was invincible while picking his nose. For a lump of meat that was only five years old, he certainly had a strong quality of annoyance. He then ran over toward his arena, much like a child running across the street for a ball, though the latter didn't hold nearly as much danger.

A few moments after the veal entered the base, he was shocked by lighting which had been amplified by the large metal poles. Melaine sensed that the veal's heart had not stopped beating and he had somehow survived being hit by the strong bolt. Because of this the hideous man got angered with jealousy and started to beat the child with all of his strength until the veal started to cry heavily and pulled out a bazooka like object and pulled the trigger.

Suicide at such a young age?

She immediately corrected herself though, when she felt his presence reappear. The purple colored smoke started to fade, and there was now a calf. She raised a brow in bewilderment, why did a calf suddenly appear?

The calf then decided to fight by putting on the horns that were left behind by his veal self. With them he absorbed the electricity and charged at the hideous guy. In response, the hideous guy threw out some umbrellas, which physically shocked the calf (this made calf start to cry). Then hideous guy threw a skinny stick made out of metal. It hit the café's shoulder, going all the way through. Then there was a comment about steak, and the calf shot himself with the weird bazooka again.

This time the presence that came out was magnificently stronger. His aura came off in strong, intangible waves.

Melaine gave a high whistle in response, but just about everyone was too distracted by the immense power of the man dressed as a cow to notice. But there was one head that turned in her direction. The prince saw her perfectly despite the fact hair covered his eyes, and Melaine saw him staring at her.

They exchanged rude looks.

"Shi shi shi shi." Belphegor cackled.

"Ho, ho, ho, ho!" Melaine bellowed in response, doing her best Santa Clause impersonation.

The prince stopped laughing and turned back to the fight. Melaine declared it her win. No one can top a Santa laugh.

With her attention now on the man dressed as a cow, she watched as he absorbed the electricity from the hideous guy's attack and transferred it into the ground. The electricity shattered every single window in the building. Hibari would be pissed when he found out about this (who ever thought up the location obviously wasn't a thinker).

The man dressed as a cow evaded all of the hideous guy's attacks and then discovered something special about the horns in his hands. Melaine wasn't entirely sure what he said, but apparently he reported some missing to the cops. The man dressed as a cow charged at his opponent with such an overwhelming amount of electricity that the hideous guy was helpless, and if it went on longer, would have died. The man dressed as a cow asked him to give in, but the moment after that, there was a 'pop' of purple smoke and the Veal came back to view.

The Veal was unconscious, and all of the Namimori candidate guardians wanted to jump in and save him, but Reborn stopped them in their tracks by warning them that they would be disqualified. Melaine fully watched Tsunayoshi as the Veal was repeatedly kicked by the hideous guy.

With every kick the Veal received, the brown haired candidate received a violent flinch. With every kick the Veal received, the brown haired candidate received a kick to his heart.  
>Sawada was suffering from watching the child, and without a thought, he ran forward.<p>

"Where do you think you're going? You'll be disqualified." Reborn reminded him.

Tsunayoshi stopped, sparing only a moment for Reborn.

"I know that…But! I… have to protect Lambo!" The Tenth boss called.

He was desperate to save the Veal, and although he was not sure as to what he was going to do, he was resolute in the feeling that he must protect those close to him. And he would do that, no matter what the cost. Melaine felt the unusual envy again but pretended as if it wasn't there.

"Do as you will then." Reborn said, giving his silent approval.

It happened at a fast speed but to her the motions weren't hastened at all, and she felt as if every movement made was a moment of its own. Her eyes perceived Reborn firing the shot into Tsunayoshi's forehead, and the pure flame combusted further on his head. Xanxus moved from his hotel toward the lighting battle. Tsunayoshi moved toward a pole, that if done right, could save the veal.

The middle school kid grasped the pole with his right hand; the flames on his grip accumulated and melted the pole like soft butter.

The hideous guy was stopped from doing any farther harm to the veal, and Melaine's dear Gokudera was the first to notice any of this.

"If I have to watch my precious comrades die with my own eyes… I wouldn't be able to atone for it. No matter how many times I die."

Tsunayoshi Sawada was the epitome of good, because he could truthfully say those words. Melaine saw that and a small part of her envied it. A small part of her wanted to imitate it.

"Tsu…na.." whispered a weakened veal, calling out of his soft big brother.

The one who never did him harm, and protected him from 'stupi-dera'. He was losing consciousness and as he faded out of reality, his last sight the strong back of a resolute person, the same one he saw when he went to the future.

"Whether Vongola rings…or the succession to the Vongola throne… no matter how important it's said to be… I wouldn't fight for that kind of thing."

His eyes were clear and whole, there were no insecurities like that of a human. For a second Melaine wasn't sure as what to call him. Humanity, which is made up of fear, doubts, and hopes—he possessed none of that. He could not be called a human being. His eyes and speech began to turn back to the normal Tsunayoshi which was meek, modest, and human.

"But….friends….. But for my friends to be hurt" he paused for a moment gaining his courage. "I definitely don't want that!" He shouted scared, but still trying to make his point.

"Stop flapping your mouth" Said the deep voice of Xanxus.

The scarred assassin boss then forced Sawada crash on the hard pavement of the floor. Tsunayoshi immediately got up, though he was shocked at the sudden appearance of the man who forced him and his friends into this dangerous situation. He had a very soft and determined face.

"What kind of eyes are those…? Don't tell me you are serious about defeating me and becoming the successor." Xanxus said to Sawada with ferocious glare.

"I've never thought like that… I only…! Don't want to lose any friends in this battle!" Tsunayoshi begged.

"!What? Is that so… Why you!" Xanxus growled, getting more excited by the second.

The cervello tried to stop him from interceding in the match, but he simply killed one of them, saying that she was too noisy. Melaine agreed as she watched the cervello wither in pain on the ground.

"I'm not angry, you know. Rather I'm starting to get excited." Xanxus claimed, smiling roughly.  
>"I finally understand the reason you were once chosen by the old man to be the successor… Whether it's that stinking washed-up way of talking or that weak flame you and that old fool are two peas in a pod." Then he started to laugh like a drunk seventeen year old. "Puha-! This is a real tragedy. No more like a comedy!"<p>

Tsunayoshi didn't get the joke.

"Oi women, Continue." Xanxus ordered.

The remaining cervello did as was told and announced that both the sky and lighting room was too be given to the Varia team. Then Xanxus became the holder of the sky ring, a frightful thought for most in the mafia world.

The moment the ring was on his finger he started to flaunt his power, and with a smug expression threatened to kill them all. But then he revealed that he wanted them to taste despair like the senile old fart, also known as the "Ninth." Melaine assumed that this had something to do with the strong presence that was in the machine.

Xanxus was too arrogant for his own good; he should have kept up the facade until it was too late to do anything about it, as proven when Iemitsu started to question him.

"Puha..! Isn't investigation your field of expertise, outside advisor?" Xanxus asked rhetorically.

Reborn was threatening with his gun, and calming Iemitsu with his words. None of the guardians really understood what was going on, but Xanxus went on, telling the cervello to announce the next battle.

Melaine frowned.

What the hell just happened? The lighting battle was utterly confusing. First there was a little Veal, then a calf, then a man that looked like a cow. How does beef have anything to do with fighting or the mafia?  
>Poor little Mel, she was so lost in the situation that even she felt bad for herself.<p>

Her attention was taken by the words of Mukuro, who she realized was in a girl's body. 'Dear God he's become a transvestite', she thought. Forget that banging comments, she didn't sexually touch girls for pleasure. Mukuro called Sawda naïve for what he did.

"Is it not an expected result?" Melaine asked him, knowing he could hear her even though she was a roof apart from him.

Before he could even look her way (though she knew he wouldn't) Melaine jumped from the roof and landed on the slick wet ground, the only thoughts in her mind was that she wanted food—and McDonalds was not an option.

The small cake was easy to finish off. She was still hungry though, only this is a different kind of hunger, a more natural one. She left the shop with her advertisement umbrella and left the door open. Walking down the street, water continued to beat on the noticeable red umbrella.

Melaine caught wind of a few boys down the alley, delinquents by the appearance of them. They blocked her way, and started making worthless comments about Melaine's body. It was quite flattering considering she didn't think highly of the body that was presented to them. Giving them a breathtaking smile, Melaine wrapped her arms around the strongest ones neck.

"If you want, I could give you a love bite."

* * *

><p>A cold breeze greeted her when she entered her room. She licked the rest of the blood off her lips, and merrily went inside closing the door behind her. Her mood, and heath were in top condition, she should have eaten earlier, but had been stopped by her desire to protest against McDonalds. This was not what she had expected when traveling to Japan.<p>

_Flashback_

_The boat was rocking, and it added to Melaine's nausea, not to mention Ed looked a bit sick too. He was all stingy from her calling him a wimp. Ed then muttered under his breath "rather a wimp then a psycho" Melaine smirked at the satisfaction of Ed admitting he was indeed, a wimp. Ed seemed to get a burst of energy from the smugness of her smile._

"_It's your entire fault in the first place! You're the one who had to choose and be in a ridiculously complicated relationship, kill a crazy bastard, __**and forced us to be accomplices**__!" he shouted loudly._

_Melaine gave a sigh and held up her hands in defeat before saying "It can't be helped, between a perfect relationship and a messed up one; I will always chose the messed up one. Look at me and Karin for example"._

"_That's because your messed up!"_

"_No one asked you Ed." _

_All the while Karin was in the background chuckling to herself. Melaine was sure Karin had a bunch of witty remarks in her head. Witty, unwanted, sarcastic remarks. Melaine looked over the water and gave a genuine sigh. It Japan was over this sea, and soon it would be her new home—at least for a while._

_flashback-end_

Melaine felt the corner of her lips rise in the thought of Ed.

She thought back to what Tsunayoshi said about precious friends, and how at that instant coveted his goodness. Melaine wouldn't do that for anyone—even Ed. It works out though, because he would never ask her to. But they work together like that, like the reflection of a mirror—to do the same thing but in an opposite way. Raise your right and it shall raise its left.

His golden eyes which held a strong stare, they always challenged her to be good despite the fact she was not a good person. He was the opposite of her, a good person who did questionable things but never with a bad intention. He was selfish like her, but in a different way. He looked out not only for himself and made sure never to hurt someone who didn't deserve it.

That boy was not pure or free from sin, yet he was so good—so good. It almost baffled her, but at the same time she understood his reasoning. She understood Ed, to the point he nearly understood her.

After staying awake and listening to the rhythm of the cacophonous rain until it finally stopped, she forced herself into slumber.

* * *

><p>The computer quickly absorbed the information on Melaine's hard drive. It was the one she had taken from the hospital, and had all the information for the patients of the hospital and the extent of their injuries. With the file she was able to establish a live link to the hospital, which updated every hour. It took a bit, but she eventually she able to have any information connected with the names of Gokudera Hayato sent to her computer in a message, and if any other information was gathered, she would immediately receive that too.<p>

The process of doing this took a while, but even then she was able to arrive at the storm fight on time. Searching around, there was a thick tree, right outside of a window which gave an excellent view of the area where the mafians gathered. She found that everyone was there, but the person she wanted to see most. She knew Gokudera would be there soon, but was simply frustrated for not being able to evaluate him with her own eyes. She could feel his presence coming closer, and she also saw the clock ticking bye the seconds.

Tick, tock

tick, tock

tick, tock

tick, tock

BOOM!

The clock exploded, and there, with a badass entrance was Gokudera- sporting a outfit that made him a sex object. He was the essence of cool. Melaine fell off the branch in amazement but grabbed on to the branch she was perched at, and swung herself around so that she sat on top of it again.  
>That man affected her too much.<p>

"Since you have arrived at the designated time you will be permitted to participate in the match." The Cervello announced.

Melaine felt anger course through at those words. They would dare try to stop Gokudera's fight, unacceptable. Who were they to decide something like that, Judge Judy?

Her anger steamed out of her until it was morphed into adoration by watching Gokudera smile so happily at Tsunayoshi, apologizing for being late. She pretended to forget all about the Cervello's earlier comments. Like usual the Cervello explained the details of the fight to the possible storm guardians, and told them that the quirk in this battle was the 'Hurricane turbines' which had winds strong enough to blow them off of the third floor, their battle ground. Also, it seemed that at the end of fifteen minutes they would explode, one after another until the whole floor was gone.

Melaine couldn't help but wonder who was paying for the damage cost of Namimori middle school.

Ryohei suggested forming a circle again, which Gokudera quickly shot down. That is until the boss of their group; Sawada Tsunayoshi pulled out an innocent smile and persuaded Gokudera to join in. Melaine thought he pulled a sly move there. After that Gokudera begged Sawada let him do it too. Melaine felt as if she should have looked away. No matter who did that, it was still really embarrassing to watch.

All her thoughts were put on hold for a second though as she felt a very angry blood lust entering Namimori. She wondered what took Hibari so long. It would take twenty five minutes to arrive at the school from where he was at, but considering the fact Gokudera used bombs—which are loud and noticeable—Hibari would be here quicker than that.  
>The guy had a serious school fetish.<p>

She ignored Hibari's demanding presence and focused on the battle getting ready to start. She knew better than to look over the prince being so friendly, and she saw the thin wire come from Gokudera's shoulder, to the prince. 'That cheating little shit.' She gave a slight pause in her thoughts... 'I would have done the same thing.'

The fight began, and Gokudera threw a few bombs so that he could gain some distance from him, and after evading the prince's knives, proceeded to do his move triple bomb. The prince glanced in the air, and saw the strange way the strings were blowing; he took an elegant step back, and simply watched as the wind from a hurricane turbine blow away Gokudera's attack.

The prince claimed it was good wind instinct, Melaine claimed that he was a liar. Though she did praise him for having such keen eyesight; not many could spot the wires through a mass of hair. The prince followed Gokudera and presented him with a never ending string of attacks which Gokudera could barely avoid.

Gokudera then decided that it was time to leave the room and get out of range for his attacks, so he used his bombs to cover him. The prince took it as an invitation to play hide and seek.

Melaine never liked that game, she much preferred tag. Though the prince wasn't bad at it, as proven when he let his knife cut Gokudera, by leading them on the wire. Blood was spilt, but thanks to the raging wind Melaine wasn't able to smell it.

Gokudera quickly took off his jacket and spotted the wire; he then placed it on a science model and let it take the price's attack while he revealed to everyone the nature of the prince's attack. And with his new move was able to injure the prince, and made blood spill out. When the smoke cleared, he could be seen obsessing over the beautiful blood flowing out of him, and Melaine felt that the feeling was mutual.

The prince came rushing in with madness, and was able to hit Gokudera with the wires attached to his knives. He was coming so close, that the only thing Gokudera could do was create a small explosion between them, and protect his life at the extent of a few injures. Though Melaine had seen that kind of thing done countless time, it was simply awesome when Gokudera did it.  
>She had nearly gasped in amazement.<p>

Gokudera then led the prince into the library, planning to decide the fight that way. She watched how every knife the prince threw created more of the razor sharp wire web. Eventually, Gokudera became trapped, and he knew it too. However, he had calmly been pouring out small trails of gun powders as a way to free himself from wires the whole time, and when he lit it the blast broke nearly all of the wires.

The prince obsessed over his blood more, and although Melaine liked it too, she felt he was going a little overboard.

The prince rushed at him again, and Gokudera threw his bombs. The attack was sure to get him, and Melaine thought that she might have bet on the wrong person.

Despite her relationship with Gokudera, she thought that the prince would win. After all, Gokudera wasn't that much stronger from his training, and the prince was still willing to cheat. It was a question of logic, not faith.

Gokudera went to grab the ring, but the prince made a snatch for his at that exact moment, claiming the winner would be him. Despite how many times Gokudera hit him, the prince would not let go, and Gokudera was too weak from blood loss to be able to force him to let go, so it became a brawl for the rings.  
>Whoever cared about their lives the least would win.<br>Even when the first turbine exploded they kept wrestling for the half rings. No matter how Shamal argued, Gokudera would not withdraw, that was until the Tsunayoshi unexpectedly yelled at him. Melaine didn't think he would have the guts; it was as though he was really angry at his right hand man.

The turbine exploded and smoke filled the air.

The Namimori spectators began to mourn for their lost friend.

The right hand man stumbled into the clearing.

He was alive.

Even from the ground (where he fell due to loss of blood) he apologized to his boss for losing, but Tsunayoshi earnestly told him he was glad that Gokudera was okay (though he still dared to use the suffix –kun). Melaine wouldn't call battered and bruised okay.

Squalo was about to start a one-sided argument with Yamamoto about their fight which had just been announced, when a man fleeing from the disciplinary chairman's wrath interrupted them. Then said dictator appeared, out for blood for whoever damaged his school.  
>Melaine knew it wasn't a good idea to hold the match here.<p>

"What do you think you're doing in my school?" Hibari asked seriously.

Melaine wanted to laugh at the amount of blood lust that radiated out of him. That guy was so angry over something like a school—ridiculous.

"Unlawfully breaking into the school, and moreover, vandalizing the premises. By reason of joint responsibility, everyone here will be bitten to death."

No one was happy about Hibari's reasoning, or actions, but the hideous guy was the only one stupid enough to immediately try and attack him. Hibari sidestepped him easily, something that made Squalo excited to fight.

"Heey! How many times should I slash you open!" Squalo shouted before pulling out his sword.

"Hnn. Are you next?" Hibari asked, obviously enjoying the idea of beating him up.

The Cervello told them of the consequence of a fight. These consequences didn't fly well for Yamamoto who still hasn't fought. Guy was a sore loser.  
>"Calm down. Hibari. I know you angry, but-"<p>

"You're in the way. Don't stand in front of me."

He slashed his tonfa at Yamamoto, who was able to step around Hibari and grab the back of his tonfa. Trying to pacify him with strength; Melaine thought he was a genuine idiot for it.

"That long-hair is my opponent… Please be patient a little while longer." Yamamoto requested in a friendly tone.

"If you're going to get in my way, I don't care who you are I'll bite you to death."

"Oh crap! I made him mad..!" Yamamoto noticed looking very worried.

Hibari was starting to get very serious.

"Ciaossu, Hibari!" Reborn greeted.

Melaine flipped off of her branch, and hard onto the ground. There was no point in watching anymore, the baby would prevent any unnecessary fighting, they didn't get the concept that she only came to see teenagers beat the shit out of each other. So Melaine left to do something she probably shouldn't. But with all that blood, who could blame her?


	4. sore

Chapter,4 is on time! I'm never sure what part of the day I will add a chapter, but my plan is every sunday. Yes, I finally have a reason to like Sunday. Thank you, my bate **thealmightydee9009**, she is an amazing writer and beta. I hope you all like this chapter. Just to clear something up though, I love McDonalds, everytime I go there 'I'm lovin it', and I do not encourage the arson of it's buildings. So dont blame me when you do it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

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><p>The morning was particular lovely today; at least that was Melaine's view. Then again any day in which she visited Gokudera was sure to be a lovely one.<p>

Arriving at the hospital, she walked straight past the front desk and into Kana's office. There was no resistance from anyone, it was a bit disappointing. But then again, what can you expect from a place that looks like an alyssum. Shuffling through Kana's (her personal doctor) things she found what she was seeking for. The official nurses outfit, for this hospital, and an all access security pass, one able to unlock any door in this place. After a little modification it contained no name or picture. It was nothing less than a skeleton key.

Thanks to the link she had set up to her computer, Melaine received every bit of Gokudera Hayato's medical information that existed. It also informed her that he was currently in room 600 and was being restrained due to the fact he refused to stay in the hospital and attempted to leave numerous times.

When Melaine had first gone over Gokudera's chart she nearly felt sympathy for him—he suffered terrible stomach aches as a child. Some doctors suggested he was poisoned, but they couldn't understand how. Melaine despised stomach aches; they reminded her of what it was like to be truly hungry. The starvation that had broken her sanity once, and would only be healed by the life of others. The unbearable pain was centered at her stomach. She had to quench the thirst; there was no choice, no other logic than to quench that painful thirst.

Waltzing in, Melaine held a kind and surprisingly genuine smile. She brought with her a freshly cut apple, water, and a stethoscope. The moment she entered the room, Gokudera demanded to be let out and aggressively struggled against his restraints. It took quite a bit not to laugh at the sight of him.

"Okay, okay, calm down now, getting worked up is bad for you blood pressure," she told him, enjoying his every movement or desistance. He was helpless, like McDonalds against her protest.

"Listen Woman, let me out I must go get stronger for the Tenth!" he yelled.

If anyone else had said such a thing to her, Melaine would have tortured them not out of anger, but simply because there was satisfaction when the weak were hurt. Torturing the helpless made her feel a small bit of that satisfaction. The strong survive and the weak don't. It's the only law Melaine acknowledged, and the only one she couldn't escape.

However there was no rule that applied to Gokudera, he was otherworldly. So instead of teasing him, like she secretly wanted to; Melaine gave him a thoughtful look, and then in an innocent tone asked "Tenth, Tenth of what?"

His suspicion flared, and he seemed to come to a realization of sorts. "You're from that time, with the Tenth's journal! Why are you here?" He demanded to know.

"I remember now, then Tenth is this that nice, brunette boy?" She did not try to reassure him or provide any excessive comfort, but instead went along, and played the role of a patient nurse.

Melaine knew this was the quickest way to become acquainted with him, but acknowledged that the next time they meet; she would not bare such a facade. Surely it wouldn't gain his trust, but she hoped to invoke a more amusing reaction out of him. Not to say he wasn't highly entertaining as is, but she would prefer to be more open with her fixation with him.

"Don't speak of Tenth is such a common manner!" he said being excessively loud.

It wasn't anger that was meant for her, but more was toward the fact Romario had him restrained to his bed. 'You need to heal your body before you train' Romario had said. Gokudera gave him one word of response: bullshit. He didn't trust those Varia characters; for sure they wouldn't take losing to the Tenth graciously.  
>It was his duty to get stronger, so that he could help the Tenth if those Varia try to pull something. After all, it was bad enough that he couldn't win when his 'family' was on line. Especially when the turf head could.<p>

"He must be an amazing guy, for you to speak so highly of him" Melaine's voice still patient, and kind.  
>She appeared to be completely unaffected by the boys temper. Though it was quite the opposite, she felt incredibly happy at watching him shout profound words. She watched eagerly as Gokudera's face light up at Tunayoshi's amazingness.<p>

"Tenths the best! No one can compare, and I must get a lot stronger if I want to be his right hand man" He told her as if it was the last thing he would do.

Smiling she nodded at his statement like she agreed with him. "He sure is lucky to have you, there's probably no one more fitted to be the right hand man then you.

" Gokudera blushed a little at what she said, and inside Melaine was admiring how cute and naive he is.

She sat down on the chair next to him and with a small knife cut one of his restraints, and offered him a slice of the apple. Grudgingly he took one, mumbling under his breath. As he ate his fruit Melaine cut away his restrains, one at a time. After stuffing a lot of the pieces in his mouth Gokudera tried to leave in a hurry, but Melaine was already in his way.

"You can't leave your still injured!" She shouted worriedly.

"These wounds are nothing, I must go find Tenth!" He shouted in an almost valiant way.

Melaine fell prey to his charm, but quickly snapped herself back into her fake identities personality. Using what most would have assumed was all her strength, she managed to push him on the bed.

"No, at least let me give you a checkup before you leave. Besides I'm sure that Tenth can handle himself for a few more minutes" She said reasonably.

He glared at her, but reluctantly let her evaluate him.

She checked his heartbeat, blood pressure, and vision. After what was around three minutes she was done and pretended to write on his chart. She looked at him sternly and concluded, "I recommend bed rest and bandages," She didn't want to leave his presence yet; she barely ever got to see him this close.

Gokudera looked at her suspicious at her actions and was about to interrogate her, when she swiftly opened the door and performed a gesture with her hand. "Well, you can go now,"

"I thought you just said I need bed rest, why are you helping me?" he said, loud as ever.

She gave him a cute smile and while looking distantly out the door told him. Looking as if she had a mysterious past was part of her plan to gain his trust.

"You're not in serious condition, and even so it sounds like whatever you are doing is not for yourself, but someone you love. That's something I commend."

Then with a tilt of her head gave him a bright smile, her voice had a dreamy quality to it and was easy to be swayed by. She didn't mean a word of what she just said.

Once he was out the door, Melaine's smile grew to one of calm patients into one of amusement and adoration. 'Just as cute as I predicted' she thought merrily. She left the room, shutting the door softly behind her. Putting the air of a nurse back on, she had a calm but strict posture as she walked in her hideous nurse shoes.

The hospital staff paid no attention to her as she walked among them, even when she went behind the front desk. Grabbing the plastic black phone which was standard for the hospital, she dialed the number attached to Gokudera's chart, when he was checked into the hospital.

"Hello "A man's voice politely answered. Melaine made her voice a touch lower before she spoke.

"This is Romario, I assume?"

"It is, what do you need?" He replied with a polite form.

"I would like to inform you that the patient Hayato Gokudera has escaped from the hospital again. His condition, like we informed you of before, is not serious, but we do recommend a bit of rest and if his cuts start to reopen 'the Mans' treatment, you had brought him in with earlier, should take care of it."

"Yes mam, thank you for calling"

"It's not a problem, good bye"

Hanging up the phone, Melaine smiled. She did say that she wouldn't interfere, but that doesn't mean the hospital or Romario won't. She would have done it anyways, even if she had promised exactly that. It was part satisfaction of being strong, and Melaine was never weak.

The pretend nurse had managed to see Gokudera again when he was returned to the hospital, and she even watched as Ryohei took him away to the rain battle, not an hour later. She worried that he might catch a cold with all the bad weather that's been happening lately.

Making her way to the stadium, she was yet again suspicious about the fact that the Cervello supposedly built the battle arena in one day. However, she let go of her suspicions and observed the fighting and splashing.

Watching the fight go on, she was only mildly interested in their match. She could not deny though that they had potential and some talent. In the future they may prove to be an excellent prey for Karin to practice against. And it is not against Squalo's wishes either she thought, remembering their short encounter.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_I know she's here, where is she?" _

_Melaine who by now had packed all her books away gave him a clueless look and bent over her Nissan 300zx, starting the engine. Melaine gave him another look, but this one was more filled with annoyance._

"_Get lost" She said, and moved just in time that she dodge his incoming blade._

_He kept swinging at her, and every time she it had barely missed her. His movements were fast, but paled in comparison to her swiftness, but that was the only way in which she topped him. He seemed to be apparently stronger considering how effortlessly he swiped at her with the heavy metal sword. He was only using one hand._

_Yet his unfashionable hairstyle greatly amused her despite the serious situation._

_Her guard was dropped, lost in the amusement of the situation, and he took that opportunity to try and deal a blow to her stomach. Moving fast she avoided the sword hitting her stomach, but instead receiving a deep cut to her arm. Melaine's eyes widened slightly, and she looked momentarily impressed. _

"_Not bad, you have skill" She commented analyzing the boy again. Holding his sword still he smirked, and had a prideful look on his face._

"_OHH tell me where Karin is or I'll shred you to pieces"  
>She considered saying no simply to see what his reaction would be like, but decided to be kind. <em>

"_Karin's gone, went somewhere that involved French fries, martial arts; I don't know the details" After a second she added "You won't find Karin, she's good at running and hiding"_

_Squalo considered this for a moment before saying "One day, I will defeat Karin, Shima," He vowed._

_She nodded and in a gentle, but serious voice said "I'm sure you will, now go away."_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Looking at the scene in front of her, she noticed that Squalo had gotten better, but not considerably so. There is still room for improvement, but other than that his power level he is pretty good. There wasn't enough to catch her interest though.

Yamamoto on the other hand will be able to evolve his skill plenty more. The fight went by slowly for her, and her interest left early on compared to the other battles. The only meaningful thing that happened was Mukuro, who seemed to be a transvestite appeared again and caused a fog which only Hibari noticed.

She left not seeing the meaning of the fight there was sure to be other things to do. And something was bothering her ever so greatly. Walking down what appeared to be an empty street she flipped up her phone and Karin immediately answered "What do you want" she asked with an unlikeness of impatience .

"Where did Shima come from?" Melaine asked curiously

"You called me for that?" Karin's voice sounded annoyed.

"Why Shima, of all the last names?" She kept asking.

"It was while ago Mel, I don't remember." Karin replied hoping to get rid of her.

"Less than a decade, seriously why did you say you have a last name? Is it some secret longing?"

"Nothing as stupid as that," Karin assured her then added "I just kind of felt like it"

"Your right it's even more stupid" Melaine said dryly then hung up.

She felt disappointed, and annoyed. What idiot would believe her name is Shima? Gokudera was the only thing that made this day have any meaning.

* * *

><p>There was an abnormal presence that awoke Melaine to a beam of sunlight, which hit her eyes and irritated them greatly. She rolled over and covered herself with the white sheets, blocking the light. It seemed to shine at her persistently, bringing unneeded warmth.<p>

Curious as to what the Acrobaleno was doing outside her house, she got up, still tired and dared to look at the sun. She turned away after feeling the harsh lights burning her eyes in an uncomfortable way.

Then her sense understood that Tenth (she adopted this way of thinking after her life changing meeting with Gokudera yesterday) was with him. His presence was weak, and seemed to be normal so she hadn't picked up on him sooner, but she would never mistake his sweet scent.

Peeping through the window she found Tenth walking down to go training. Reborn walked next to him with a fast pace, they were obviously in a hurry to train, but Melaine wished they had time to stay and eat. Watching him out the window, she stared at him as he passed by. His shoulders were slumped, body scrawny, and his eyes were troubled, but sincere. She couldn't help but wonder how such people exist, able to always do what they think is right; to put others above themselves.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she intruded on Tenth's and found it was the Mist battle next. Melaine attempted to guess who the mist guardian was, but stopped her pondering when hearing a loud 'BEEP' from her computer. Wandering over to the machine, she saw a notice on the screen informing her of a patient's discharge. Apparently, Gokudera Hayato was now free to go home.

Melaine looked over out eh window she had just been spying out of. If Tenth was with Reborn then that meant they were off training, not welcoming home Gokudera.  
>Melaine knew what she had to do.<p>

It wasn't hard to find his home, after stalking him for weeks and she knew exactly where he lived. His apartment was several blocks away, but the walk wasn't long and she got there pretty quickly. Looking upon it again Melaine admitted that it was a nice apartment, classy and expensive, not to mention it had good security compared to most places. With two security cameras watching each wall, guards at the back and front doors, and alarms; it was obvious that this place was for the better off.

Melaine—who had somehow acquired sunglasses on the walk here— casually strolled into the building and strait up to the front desk. She made sure not to invade their personal space, act too common or talk in a low class dialect.

Giving a small and polite smile, she softly asked "Hayato, Gokudera is on the 4th floor, room 37, correct?" They glanced at her with evaluating eyes.

"Yes, who are you?" They asked nearly as polite.

Giving them a charming smile she replied "I'm his fiancé, Auyumi." Then for an extra benefit she blushed, and looked down slightly.

She could see from their reflection in the glass desk that their jaws dropped, and eyes widened significantly. While they were still shocked Melaine gave them a sweet thank you before walking away. The moment she got into the elevator she checked for a camera—there was none—and proceeded to laugh. Her laugh was quiet but low, and had an ensnaring quality to it.

The elevator made a high 'Bing', and its thick metal doors slid open. Melaine took a step forward turned slightly, pressed every buttons for the floors and rushed out. 'That should throw someone off' she thought enjoying herself.

Nearly skipping to room 37, she saw an unexpected surprise.

There walking out of a room, at the end of the hall, was Shamal. The man was able to maintain a normal aura of power around him, and Melaine never bothered to remember what his presence felt like, so she was a bit unprepared. There were many options on how to deal with the situation, but Melaine felt more comfortable with breaking and entering. It was a silent act and required no violence; she simply unlocked the closest door from her side and stepped in without hesitation.

Inside the room she heard a woman doing the dishes in the kitchen, and a man in his late twenties on the couch reading the newspaper. Melaine quickly ran toward him when he saw her. Then threw herself on top of him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately. This was slightly difficult in her dress wear, but she managed to straddle him.

His wife hearing a noise from the room walked in calling "Keiko, what's that-!"

Her voice was lost at the sight of what she saw and for while she couldn't move from shock. Melaine looked at the guy in an intimate manor while saying "I couldn't wait to see you again, after all, last time was amazing,"

Her voice was heavy with lust, and she continued to French kiss him. The man now getting control of himself had started to try and push her off. But Melaine moved just right, so it looked more like he was wrapping his arms around her. She pressed herself closer to him and forced him to move his body with her as she rose herself, pulling his mouth with her; giving the appearance that he was kissing her back. The wife had now gotten a hold of herself, and yanked Melaine off him screaming at her to not touch her husband.

Melaine gave her a surprised look, then turned to Keiko with an angry expression and yelled "You said you weren't married! You lying bastard! I never want to see you again!" and then stormed out the room fast, slamming the door behind her. She could hear muffling behind her and was impressed by the walls thickness.

Quickly running over to Gokudera's room she knocked calmly on the door. There was no answered, so she knocked again. Getting irritated she unlocked the door and barged in, there was no Gokudera. Only three words came out of her mouth: "No fucking way."

She smacked her head. She had been so caught up in seeing Shamal, and didn't that she didn't even notice Gokudera left with him. She destroyed someone's marriage for nothing. Talk about a waste of time.

Melaine decided to leave through the window; after all she had just heard the husband and wife taking their argument into the hall. She opened the window, climbed out and lowered herself so that she was hanging on the ledge. Then she lifted herself up to close the ledge, and jumped. The fall was quick, and she landed on her feet with impeccable grace.

She stomped all the way home, grumbling. She wasted an entire mourning, and still hadn't eaten anything. She was hungry, and it was affecting her mood greatly. Near her was a young girl, Melaine recognized her as Kyoko, the dense girl after Tenth. Melaine remembered her visiting the Tenth at the hospital. The girl was now ordering a cake from the shop Melaine had recently broken into. Listening in on their conversation she heard only some of it.

"It's terrible you were robbed, by those delinquents, and one was a murder too!" Kyoko exclaimed

"It's really terrible! Imagine if we were there when it happened!"

"I hope you all right, "

Melaine thought they would go one forever, so she interrupted "I want a strawberry cake."

The employee and Kyoko turned their attention to her, and being good-natured, got her what she wanted before conversing again. She didn't mind the talking so much when the employee had forgotten to make her pay, and Melaine walked out of there with a free cake.

Sitting at the store next to them she, ate the cake merrily, but got sick of it soon afterward. It wasn't cake that she craved. Throwing it away she went back into the store and found that Kyoko had finally stopped conversing with the employee and was walking away with a small cake of her own. Melaine pulled her aside and in a meek tone asked

"Can you help me with something?"

Kyoko being too naïve immediately agreed to.

Melaine lured her out of the store and into the shadows that surrounded it; Kyoko was too concerned with Melaine to notice. She had made up some story of wanting to pay for the cake because she had forgotten to, and when Kyoko was just about to suggest something. Melaine hugged her tightly and placed her lips upon Kyoko's delicate neck.

She would taste much better than a strawberry cake.

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><p>Melaine walked out of the alley with filled stomach and in a much better mood. The sharp taste of blood lingered in her mouth, its essence hiding in her stained gums and teeth. The girl, Kyoko, would wake up in several minuets confused, faint, and forgetful of how she got outside the shop. The two little marks on the back of her neck would go completely unnoticed and heal before anyone thought to question them.<p> 


	5. Frustrated

I'm so sorry that I posted it this late in the day. I want to kill myself, and everyone else who is at fault, cause I'm certainly not to blame. I wish I could have posted this four hours ago! Here is chapter 5, with an interesting ending I hope. Tell me what you think, criticism and comments wanted! My wonderful beta is thealmightydee9009, and she produces equally wonderful works. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

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><p>Strolling down the street Melaine saw what looked like a pair of nasty high school students. One had the stench of animals, and the other smelled like poison of some kind. They were extremely contrast to each other and it was tempting to stare, but not for the obvious reasons. Melaine remembered seeing those two being pulled out of Kokuyo land by the Vindeci prison guards along with Mukuro.<p>

Seeing as they are not being hunted by Vindicare prison, someone must have made a deal. Mukuro was the most likely suspect. He is the leader, and if it was one of the other two that had made a deal, Mukuro would be the one out of prison right now. The subordinates have nothing to offer anyways.

Melaine bought a juice at the vending machine close by and laid down on a wooden bench close to where the Tenth was. She closed her eyes and relaxed, allowing her ability to perceive sound to tell her of what went on around her. It was comfortable hearing the Tenths reaction to Mukuro's henchmen (he fainted from fear), but listening to what Reborn said about Tenth (always asking about the Kokuyo squad) brought a dislikable pain to her chest. That boy even worried for his enemies—who he didn't even like! How could he do something like that? And why can't she?

The conversation was over in less than three minutes, but Melaine held still even after they left. Before she moved, Melaine paused for a moment, and allowed the longing to be good to throb in her body even though the feeling was suffocating. No matter how far a rubber band may stretch, it shall always retain its shape. Then with a long sigh, she flipped off the bench and left.

Melaine went people gazing. She watched as they went on with their lives, focusing on whatever they deem important, unaware of what lurks in the shadows, unaware that she lurks in the day. All the people there were insignificant, and because of that, there was no interest in her gaze. Her posture was nonchalant and showed a quiet boredom, but no one noticed her in anyway. She had almost managed to get past a familiar looking guy, but alas was pulled up by the collar of her shirt in a threatening manner.

"You," said a male voice full of venom. Melaine looked up, with an unseen spark in her eyes.

"Do I know you?" She questioned rudely, looking the man strait in eye.

"You little witch! It's all your fault!" He ranted loudly. Melaine put on a scared look, while trying to figure out who the man was. She knew it was in her best interest to look innocent when her hero arrived.

"Please leave me alone, I don't know you! I swear!"

The man was raged beyond reason, and he slammed her back into the wall of nearby convenience store. Melaine pretended to wince at the impact, and the man's hand flew back—knocking into the face of Hayato Gokudera.

Gokudera's reaction time was quick; Melaine noticed. The moment he shouted, "What the fuck!" and slammed his fist into the other guys face was less than two seconds after being hit himself. Able to curse him and beat the crap out of him at the exact same time, Gokudera won the unofficial fight. It was only afterward that he truly noticed her.

"It's you!" He exclaimed.

"Gokudera!" Melaine shouted in false surprise.

Gokudera looked at the situation with a clear mind, his anger momentarily gone.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, I don't even know the guy" She swore.

She had already forgotten about the marriage she ruined the other day. Giving her a disbelieving look he tried to walk off, but Melaine caught up quickly.

"You're really strong, you just might be able to be right hand man after all," she commented.

"I am tenth's right man!" he pronounced.  
>After a thought full moment she said "Okay" and gave him a bright smile. The smile was filled with the intention of manipulation.<p>

"You're a weirdo," He stated looking a little creeped out by her.

She appeared to roll her eyes in attitude, but was really looking him up and down.

She retorted, "Coming from a guy with a silver hair?"

"Shut up! What do you know?" He yelled at her, mad he was insulted.

"Seven thousand years' worth of knowledge," She asserted—which was more or less true.

"You're a liar!" he said.

Melaine eyes started tearing, and she gave him a pathetic face before crying out "Am not!" then adding "Its not nice to make a lady cry!" This seemed to strike a memory in him, and he clumsily tried to pacify her. After a few moments the girl started to laugh.

"I was just messing with you." She informed him, obviously finding the situation funny. Melaine loved to get unusual reactions out of Gokudera.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled, and tried to get away again.

"Hey I was worried about you!" she shouted running after him.

"Che," He didn't believe or care what the girl had to say. Then after a moment of her trotting after him in silence she spoke.

"Doesn't your face hurt from being hit?" Gokudera tried to ignore the girl, but she was persistent in getting him to talk. Melaine was so excited to see him that she just wanted to listen to his harsh voice.

"Don't bother me!" he said. Melaine paused in her speech a moment considering his words and then in a soft voice said confessed

"I just wanted to talk to you, you're an interesting person." He spared her a glance and noticed the gentle look on her face and the honest way she looked into his eyes.

"You're still weird," He stated turning his head quickly, with an obstinate look. Melaine gave a slight laugh and smiled at him, genuinely pleased.

"Thank you," She said with happy look. He had talked to her.

"Just don't get in my way!" he commanded.

"Okay" She agreed pleased that he nearly accepted her. This was so easy for her. She followed him to no particular place, and even though he was obviously annoyed by her presence, was to wary to yell in case she would fake cry again; something Melaine considered if he tried to force her away.

Gokudera wandered around town like a lone wolf, and Melaine traveled behind him like stalker. He always had a dirty look on his face, like he would beat the crap out of anyone who dared to mess with him. His loner attitude was never broken despite the fact he still had a few bandages. Nevertheless, Melaine felt pleased with her current situation.

They only raised a few glances when walking in the town, but no one's complete attention was toward them. And even if someone's attention was focused on them, it only lasted a second. Humans tend to think only of themselves, but not Gokudera. All he thought of was Tsuna, who, if wasn't training or with Reborn at the moment would have been roped into joining them.

They walked like that for and hour or so until Gokudera tried to return home. Melaine could easily see how he got more annoyed at her presence by the second, and made an obvious attempt to ditch by going into the apartment. However, Melaine was fully prepared to follow him to the end of the world if she could.

She stepped up into the building after him and he turned around

"Leave me alone!" He demanded.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know you!" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She rolled her eyes at him.

"My names Melaine," He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"No last name?" he interrogated.

"No last name" she confirmed honestly. Last names didn't exist when she was born, and her and her sister lived ten human lives (back then it was twenty years at most) together and they hadn't thought of such a ridiculous idea. Two names- back then-, inconceivable! When her sister died, Melaine went on living with her one name, and spent more than half life before she was introduced to the idea of last name. But even then she thought it was silly and turned up her nose at the idea of it.

"Go away!" He shouted before stomping into his apartment. He wasn't angry, but annoyed with the Varia thing going down, a crazy stalker was not helping his temperament. He hoped to see the Tenth soon.

"Tenth, Tenth, Tenth" she thought mulling over his name. It would be much easier to hang around Gokudera if she befriended Tsuna and made her presence normal to him; a rather difficult task when adding his home tutor in the mix. The baby proved to be more of an inconvenience to her by the second, but he made the game more enjoyable by being obstacle. After all, what good is a game if you don't have obstacles to beat?

Gokudera wouldn't be an option for the rest of the day, but some of the other guardians were probably free. However then she looked over her options again, this time taking into account, their personalities: Hibari was a loner, the veal was in a coma, Tenth was passed out, Mukuro was in prison, Gokudera was done with her for the day, and Yamamoto wasn't fun. Melaine frowned at this aspect, and took off her ridiculously big hoodie, that kept her from the cold.

She waited at a nearby coffee shop, and knew that he would be jogging on the street across from it on his daily route, just like he always does. The strong earthy scent of the coffee gave her slight nausea for a few minutes, but it passed just slightly before Ryohei arrived. She wouldn't be going back to that shop anytime soon.

_Ryohei _

In the midst of training his body, Ryohei jogged down his usual path of training, his mind was empty of any particular thought. When he was only couple footsteps away from truing a corner, he saw a figure flying over the cars zooming in the streets. After a second he realized that it was a girl leaping over traffic. It was the most ultimate thing he had ever seen a girl do, besides that one time with the manager….

The girl landed with impeccable grace, and Ryohei was already charging over toward her. She had to join the boxing the club!

"That was extreme!" He yelled, raising his fist to his face while his passion burned in his eyes. The girl mirrored his drastic expression, and she pumped her fist upward while shouting

"It's become I'm extremely awesome!"

"You must join the boxing club, so that we can train extremely hard together!" Ryohei screamed, determination at its peak like always. This was an ultimate girl, even if she had a big tummy!

"Ryohei! There are three steps to the ultimate training!"

"What are they? I must know!" She looked him dead in the eyes as she began to reveal to him a trainers ultimate secret.

"The first is being extremely awesome like me!"

"YES!" He shouted in response.

"The second is resting every now and again like me!" This girl was wise just like master Colenello; she was so extreme.

"YES!"

"THE THIRD IS TOO NEVER EAT AT AN OVERPRICED MCDONALD'S!"

"YEESS!" Ryohei screamed as if he once again had an orgasm. With his heart on fire from hearing such extreme words he started to pump his fits in the air in a very extreme manor. 'SHE IS SO WISE, THIS GIRL IS THE ULTIMATE EXTREME' he thought.

"Good job, you trained extremely well! Now go rest at your house. With an injured arm and all that training, rest is the best thing that you can do for your body now." Ryohei seemed amazed at her for a second and then shouted loudly "Your so extreme!" Melaine nodded, agreeing with him completely then putting her hand on his shoulder, looked straight into his eyes and said "Don't worry with a little more effort you can be extreme too. Now go home and rest!"

"Yes!" He replied and went running off home like a good boy.

Melaine opened the door to her residence and stepped inside, shutting it behind her quietly. 'Today was well spent', she thought merrily. As of lately she had been more tired, and went to her room for nap before the battles. Though she knew it was to be expected. Lying down on her large white bed she was soon devoured by slumber's hunger.

* * *

><p>Melaine woke up, slowly dazed by sleep. It was fairly dark outside, and with a jolt Melaine realized it was around ten. She had to get there before the cervello, and the others. Quickly she jumped out of bed and ran to what she hoped was a deserted school. Getting closer she realized that there was no one there and thanked the fact that there was no battle ground that they had to build. However, the Cervello were quickly coming closer to the gym.<p>

Picking up her pace she entered the mist arena seconds before the Cervello did, and managed to silently jump in to her hiding place. Her presence became untraceable, but she knew if Mukuro was as promising as she hoped, then he would be able to detect that there was someone hidden. He won't know who or where—but he would know. The thought sent Melaine shivers of excitement. Using the methods of an illusionist (it's only right considering the situation), she spread out her own illusion, one where she was absent from the gym. It was laughable to sit on the railing and observe as everyone came together to watch the fight. Tenth was still out cold when Basil piggy-backed him into the Gym.

Nothing interesting happened until Tenth woke up. The moment he did everyone greeted him with smiles—except Gokudera who fretted for how his boss felt. Tenth was thankful for their concern, but became worried when he saw how bandaged up Yamamoto was. His rain guardian assured the boss that he was alright.

Tenth became at ease only to get even tenser when he remembered who he had seen early that day. As if on cue, two boys came in trailed by a docile girl who revealed herself as Chrome Dokuro. She was the girl Melaine had sensed Mukuro through; they had a connection that transcends dimensions. 'Perhaps it could go the other way as well, if someone could apply enough mental force.' The idea provided interesting options.

The battle of illusionist started, and the girl was found to be able to use Mukuro's powers from hell, and though she wasn't nearly as talented using them her strength wasn't terrible for a beginner. However, her opponent was not a beginner, and his strength was not easily surpassed. The girl called Chrome, lost to Mammon. When she was overtaken by Mammon's illusions, her true from showed—the form of a half dead girl. It was a disgusting site.

Melaine felt chills roll down her spine, and she instantly knew that the man from hell was going to grace them with her presence. 'He sure knows how to make an appearance', she thought. Not even a moment later, the master illusionist appeared, claiming to have returned from the other side of the cycle. The sight of him baffled a majority of the viewers.

Mammon informed everyone that Mukuro was the boy who tied to break out of prison, again. The mood became intense, and everyone was strained. It was unthinkable to break out of Vindice prison, but to do it twice? Even more terrifying.

"He broke out again!" Tenth panicked. 'That kid has the worst luck, even though getting Mukuro as the mist guardian is probably the best any mafian could do.' However, Melaine took note of how Tenth held no ill will toward Mukuro, besides the fact that he was bit scared of him.

Melaine's liking of Mukuro grew when she saw how he was lying through his teeth about escaping, just for the sake of messing with them. Mammon seemed to earnestly believe that Mukuro was an illusion created by the girl, and did not believe he was truly there, or had been to hell.

The Acrobaleno created the illusion of a blizzard and ice, entrapping Mukuro in it. It was entertaining to see illusions. For Melaine, the illusions were like a reflection of reality. It was the same as when you look into an off computer screen and see yourself, but at the same time you see the computer screen. And whichever one you choose to focus on is the one which you see more clearly. But Mukuro was certainly strong in illusions as well. Still, she was not captured in the illusion like most of the others, completely able to keep her sense of reality.

An illusionist's battle is the simplest kind for Melaine; it is a similar process to entering a mind. The difference is that the illusionists send out certain thoughts which created images. The thoughts come out in the form of wave energy, like most things that your senses react to. The energy never fades or runs out, but simply keeps traveling until it is transformed into something else, so one could go so far as to say that it affects the world. However an illusion is a lie based off truth, so if one is not in view of the gym, then they could not hope to see the illusion because the truth is that there are people in the gym and the lie is that there are people in the gym and one of them is becoming trapped in ice. Without seeing the truth, you cannot hope to see the lie. In other words: if you can't see the gym, you can't see the illusion in the gym.

When the Acrobaleno came to smash Mukuro frozen statue (his face turned into a steel hammer), he became entangled into the vines of lotus flowers. Mammon was overwhelmed by Mukuro's power; even though the girl's body was taking quite a strain, Mukuro played it off as if it was nothing.

The battle continued, but the Tenth suddenly got a splitting headache, which caused him to drop to his knees. Melaine could tell that a transfer of memories was coming to him, and tried to look inside Tenth's head, but found it blocked. Pushing harder to enter his mind, Melaine could sense the mental wall put up to keep the memory safe. If she kept pushing, then not only would she see the memory, but would also she would break the Tenth. Ridding herself of her curiosity, Melaine retreated from his head and acknowledged Mukuro as a surprising boy.

"Uuuu! Something's in my head..." Tenth managed out. He was kneeling on the floor from pain, and was cowering his head in his hands. Melaine peered over the railing, trying to get a better look at the boy. The tenth was starting to sweat from the stress on his brain.

"DAD..!" Tenth yelled astonished, and the physical pain seemed to lesson. Melaine knew that the memory transfer had been finished.

"Mukuro," Tsuna called almost gently, unfortunately Mukuro was busy defending himself from thirty small Mammons flying at him. One seemed as if it got through and enveloped him with strange material he morphed to, but it was broken by giant lotus flowers. Mukuro then made another comment about hell, and Melaine started to believe that he might have a fetish.

Mukuro was right in saying the Acrobaleno had completely lost control over his own perceptions. With his mighty illusions, Mukuro seemed to break apart the whole gym and allow everyone to feel the might if his power. Melanie's blood raced as he unleashed his power: it was fast, loud, and calm. Melaine gripped the railing in anticipation, and with a bang the Acrobaleno appeared to explode from Mukuro's power.

But Melaine could sense him escape with some reserved power, and she felt positive that Mukuro knew it too.

Tsuna—under the impression that the baby was dead—showed sympathy for the Acrobaleno, his opponent. He questioned how Mukuro could have gone so far, but not in such a way he was reprimanding him. It gave Melaine that uncomfortable feeling of envy again, and she wished greatly to escape it. Her heart had never been a quiet one; rather her emotions were always that of a blazing storm.

Mukuro himself said that the Tenth was naïve for this was of thinking, but never less explained that Mammon had escaped and was not dead. Hearing this caused Tenth to calm down, and it caused Xanxus to put a hit out on the mist Acrobaleno. The equivalence for failing a mission in the Varia was death. They were the darker side of the mafia, as Mukuro said. He also went on to comment about Xanxus master plan, but it was his last few sentences that caught Melaine attention.

The words prickled Melaine with funny emotions; "But I have no intention of poking my nose into my nose into your business. Because I'm not a nice human being." He then went on to say, "The other candidate for the successor, though smaller and weaker than you… Is not really someone you should trifle with, for your own good."

The Tenth was confused at Mukuro's words; he did not understand his own extraordinary qualities. The winning illusionist then turned around and suavely strolled in front of his now declared boss and stood in front of him with a sly smile. "The only reason I have become your Mist guardian is to set myself in a better position to possess your body, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Melaine thought it was a terrible lie considering his body was already amazing—Tenth's did not match up at all.

Tenth was able to tell that he was lying as well, but ignored it and thanked Mukuro for his help. Mukuro made a small comment about being tired, and the let his soul return to his body. The girl's body fell down, no one catching her. Melaine could tell that her body was functioning correctly again, thanks to Mukuro's illusions.

With Mukuro's soul gone, Melaine had much easier access to Tsunayoshi's mind and didn't have to worry about breaking or causing him serious damage. Like a raccoon, Melaine went scavenging through the Tenth's mind, finding small memories that had been given to him by his Mist guardian. There was no evidence as to whether Mukuro had shown him the memories knowingly or not.

'Mukuro did it concisely,' Melaine guessed. Her mind absorbed the images of Mukuro in cold and pitch-black place, which she recognized as a Vendicare prison cell. She also saw Mukuro breaking out of the prison with his henchmen, and sacrificing himself for them to escape. The last images sent to the Tenth were ones of his father, Iemitsu, agreeing to take up guardianship for Ken and Chikusa (the henchmen).

Not yet breaking her intrusion of his mind, she could feel his great sympathy for Mukuro, the man who tried to kill him. She also felt his shock when Reborn warned him to never forget what Mukuro had done to him. Tenth didn't have time to think of what Reborn said because it was announced that the cloud battle next.

Xanxus was very confident in his sneaky plan, but even so, Melaine believed that Tenth would win if he has the zero point break through, and allies. Of course there was a fairly high chance that the Tenth would die, but Melaine took him to be the kind of guy that beats the odds. Not to mention, with Gokudera by his side, there was no way he could lose.

Slowly every one departed from the fight scene leaving the girl there on the ground. It was surprising for Melaine to see that no one tried to do anything; she thought they were better people than that. 'Yamamoto saved a guy who was trying to kill him from a giant shark, but they won't help a girl who has no organs?' That was messed up even to her, though she had no intention of assisting the girl herself.

Jumping from the second floor she landed only inches away from the girls face. She lowered her foot over the girl's neck ready to cave her neck in if necessary.

"No need to play dead Mukuro" Melaine murmured, leaning down slightly to stare at the girl.

With a flash Chromes eyes opened to reveal a different presence in them.

"Kufufu" He chuckled and looked up.

Melaine offered him a hand. He strongly grasped it, and Chrome's body was pulled upward to a standing position besides her.

"I couldn't see you until this fight" He said, eyes daring her to deny it.

"You couldn't" Melaine agreed.


	6. amused

Chapter six! Thank **marzey** for informing me of the chapter mishaps! Thank you! I had my usual beta for this, **theallmightydee9009.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

* * *

><p>"How uneventful" Melaine stated.<p>

She kept her face calm and collected, but inside she was a bit let down. She thought she was about to acquire a friend (someone to toy with) in her arsenal, but apparently not. Does no want to hang out with her? 'Ryohei is my only friend' she thought sadly subtracting Ed and others from the list. Melaine kept replaying the scene in her head each time being a little more disappointed.

_Flashback_

"_You didn't" Melaine agreed._

"_To think the infamous and supposedly deceased Melaine, right before my humble eyes, kufufufu. How delightful" _

"_I assure you, my feelings are equivalent, if not greater. I fear I do have a weakness for bad guys." She told him softly, lowering her eyelids slightly._

"_Not many share such plants feelings toward you, I believe most wish you dead, especially the Arcobaleno if he were to ever find out you were toying with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends"_

"_Well then" she whispered, sliding her hand up his chest and around his neck "we must pray he never finds out"_

"_Kufufufuf…. To play such a dangerous game with a bun in the oven." _

_Melaine smothered the room between them, and tilted her face so that it was close to his. _

"_I just want-," thump. Chromes body fell back wards landing on the wooden floor with no one catching her yet again. Mukuro was gone from the girl._

"_To bite you" Melaine continued staring hopelessly at the body. 'He left….'_

_Flashback_

Glancing at the girl, there was a helpless look to her which Melaine chose not to resist. Taking out a black sharpie from practically nowhere she proceeded to uncap it, grasping the girls face and holding it still as the marker moved around the front of her head. With the circling of her wrist, she stroked the black liquid across the girls face letting the ink sink into her pores in eccentric lines and creating shapes Melaine found fitting.

Satisfied with her art, Melaine stood up and admired her work like all great artists do. She took a picture of Chrome's humorous face with her cell phone. This is what happened when you left a girl asleep in a middle school.

* * *

><p>Going to sleep was nice and the dream even nicer. She dreamt of warm arms clinging to her, leaving his scent which was that of a cold night. They were under the sun's gentle rays together; she had not known the sun could ever be so kind. There was no pain or worries, only them basking in happiness.<p>

Melaine knew that she didn't deserve this untainted happiness, but her strong impulse to destroy it (her happiness) was gone. Then a different voice came in, yelling at her with its sunny honesty and rudeness. She heard the word twisted.

"Ed!" Melaine screamed immediately awake.

"You've come to claim your unborn child!" She cheered and jumped on him, this action caused them to topple to the floor. Smiling, she went down for a bite.

"What! I'm not! I'd never! Remove your body and put on some clothes!" he shouted, shutting his eyes and blushing.

Melaine stared down and conveniently remembered that she had gone to bed in only her bra and Sophie shorts. She was also straddled on fours with Ed under her.

"What? Have you and Karin not gone this far?" Melaine implored with a mischievous smile and pressed herself closer to him.

Ed shoved her off and fled outside the room, obviously trying to regain his composure. Melaine smiled and rolled to her back, Ed was such a kid. He threw in a Namimori uniform.

"Make yourself decent! You will attend school," He commanded her from the other side of the wall.

Melaine vaguely remembered Karin mentioning something about having to go to school but she hadn't taken her seriously at the time. Melaine wasn't sure she wanted to take Ed seriously now. If she was too stubborn he would leave without a second thought. Ed would put his well-being, both mental and physical, before his feelings. He enjoyed Melaine's company but he wouldn't put up with all of her crap. So, she had to be on her best behavior around him.

Though she would never recognize the feeling to anyone else, she felt relieved at Ed's presence here. When she was with Ed the good outweighed the bad. Her nature was to destroy happiness, usually her own. She knew she didn't deserve to have happiness when she didn't have karma. But with Ed, sometimes happiness wasn't a bad thing—sometimes it was a good thing. She threw on her clothes, and snorted at the ridiculously baggy vest; opening the door she proved to Ed that she was fully dressed. He huffed for a second and went downstairs with Melaine following him.

"How is your health?" He asked nonchalantly while starting to cook some sausage.

"I don't want sausage" she complained.

" Nor do I want to put up with you, but here I am," he responded annoyed at her and then continued "You are the most vexing person I know,' she rolled her eyes at him. Ed talked as if he still belonged in the twentieth century. He didn't know how to adapt his speech to present day colloquialisms.

"Just cook the sausage" she said as she finished putting on her socks and shoes.

Ed gave her a reply as she stole a brush from the bathroom and proceeded to stroke it through her hair. Ed concentrated on trying not burning the sausage and trying to prepare toast. They finished at the same time, Melaine allowing her hair to fall gently on her shoulder, and Ed masterfully sliding the meat and toast on two separate plates with a glass of milk.

Melaine made a snide comment about how the food was edible. Even though Ed knew it was an insult, he took her words with pride, sticking his head up in the air and smirking. His nose seemed to grow sharper. He made an egotistic remark about his cooking. Smiling at him, Melaine took another bite. He went on about how fantastic his cooking skills were. Melaine examined him closely trying to find any differences, but there were none.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ed inquired, sounding annoyed.

"No" Melaine answered , then before Ed could argue with her she got up, finished with her food and tried to walk back to her room. Ed already knew that she wouldn't wiling go to school, and before she could made it to the hallway was in front of her.

"You are going to school," he said in a matter of fact tone; her response was that of a defiant glare. Sighing, Ed grabbed her and picked her up bride.

"You wouldn't dare." Melaine snarled viciously.

"Let us find out, shall we?" he challenged coolly.

Trying to keep some dignity Melaine didn't put up a struggle, and reluctantly got carried to school. Everyone who saw them stared; she was flattered by the unperturbed stares she received. If they ever truly fought, it would be easy to tell who would win, but Ed still dared to consider him her equal and challenge her whims.

"I like your shirt!" Melaine called to a random girl on the street.

Melaine didn't really like her shirt.

The girl looked around, uncomfortable and gave a weak smile of thanks. Ed carried her bridal style, but his hand was strongly gripped on her arms. She could have escaped if she tried but simply didn't. She considered it though.

Waking to school the bright sun, just so that she can listen to lectures from over educated and under informed teachers. She highly doubted that they could teacher her anything, and there for makes the idea of school worthless. She wasn't even in the guardians' class.

Ed roughly dropped her on school grounds. He was about to have a serious talk with her but Melaine, struck with a thought, ran toward the side of the school. Ed- assuming she was trying to make a run for it- ran after her. Stopping, she skidded just in time to see Tenth about to open the gymnasium door, but was startled when the Door seemed to open itself.

"AHHH!" Tsunayoshi freaked out. He jumped back and looked at the girl in tormented surprise.

Melaine saw the innocent face of Chrome, with a Hitler mustache, devil beard, cat whiskers and another eye patch drawn on her, then there were smaller things like a naked butt, fish craping, and giant pimple, oh and the last thing you notice is a giant dick with Mukuro written inside. Tenth was beyond shocked, but Melaine found it hilarious.

Ed then came to the scene fuming (he thought Melaine was up to something), but when he caught sight of the girl who was now running away had an immediate response. "WHAT THE SHIT?"

His troubling friend walked away, leaving Ed behind still gaping at where the illusionist had been. Gaining his composure Ed ran after Melaine, who had already been heading towards the school. It was never easy to persuade Melaine to do which she doesn't like unless there is something in it for her. Catching up to where she was, he evened his pace as to keep up with her.

"What are your intentions?" He asked suspiciously. She shook her head at him; he expected her to answer that truthfully? Of course he did, even though he was fully aware of what kind of person she is.

"You are going to get my schedule changed, so I share classes with the guardians," She ordered.

Ed snorted assuring her that it wasn't his problem. Melaine agreed completely, but she pointed out that 'she' was his problem and that unless he wanted to stay with her and make sure she goes to school then it would be in his best interest to put her in class A, year two. Grumbling he agreed, though he called her a spoiled brat in the process.

Waltzing into the school, she and Ed found the front office easily. There was a middle age woman working on some paperwork. Ed spoke up first.

"Excuse me, mam I need to transfer this girl into class A, year two."

He gave her an earnest look, and at the sight of him she stared. Ed was an alright looking guy, not handsome but definitely pleasant looking. Not to mention being foreign held a certain appeal in Japan. She smiled at him, but it fell quickly.

"I'm sorry there's no way it that can happen" she informed him. Ed frowned, not satisfied with that answer.

"There must be some way" he persisted. She glanced around as if afraid to be heard.

"You'd have to take that up with the disciplinary committee." She said and Ed smiled.

"And where are they located?" He inquired. She gave him a frightened look.

"You shouldn't mess with them!" She warned, and Melaine found herself getting fed up with the situation. Grabbing Ed's hand, Melaine dragged him over to where she knew the disciplinary room lies; he only protested slightly. Ed read the sign and knocked on the door before walking in.

"Hello, I would like to switch someone's schedule," He said looking straight at an uninterested black hair boy sitting at the desk.

Hibari Kyoya worked on a few papers with a few subordinates standing in two straight rows, perfectly still. Ed gave them all a weird look; he didn't get what was with their hair.

"No" Hibari answered immediately, Ed sweat dropped at how quick his response was. The kid was presumptuous brat, he could already tell.

"Could you please just make an exception" Ed asked politely.

"No. Leave herbivores." Hibari gestured for the committee members. They came closer and tried to grab him, but Ed easily knocked the first away. Hibari looked up. This time all the members charged toward him, and Ed simply dogged their movement.

"Wow," Hibari said smirking in anticipation.

Ed looked him as if he was crazy (he called them herbivores!) and Melaine decided it was a good time to speak up. She knew how to get what she wanted and enjoy the process at the same time.

"Ed, Hibari has lots of blood lust, and is always looking to beat up a strong opponent. And he has a school fetish" She whispered loudly.

"So you let me beat those guys knowing he would want to fight me, probably to the death," He said anger clear in his tone, all she would do was shrug her shoulders.

Hibari was up and his tonfas were grasped tightly in his hands with a murderous look in his eyes, but Melaine noticed he also looked exited and in her eye that was the same as happiness.

"Hibari," Melaine spoke: voice clear and unafraid. He spared her glance and she smiled at him.

"Ed will fight you, and if he wins then I get to be in the class I desire, but if he loses you can kill him," She said smiling brightly.

"That's not acceptable to me!" Ed shouted looking childishly mad.

Melaine waved him off and looked at Hibari awaiting his answer. He nodded sharply. Hibari's focus was on bashing the head of the man called 'Ed', but he did not completely disregard the shameless girl, who wasn't wearing her uniform in the correct fashion. She was undisciplined, and her eyes were like a wild beast ready to attack.

"Good," she said and then while walking out of the room proclaimed "Whoever gets knocked out of the room first loses,"

Hibari agreed to the rules but only because the male blonde showed promise as a fighter. He couldn't wait to feel the impact of the blondes blow as they fought each other. He couldn't wait to kill him. They (the man called Ed and undisciplined girl) were different ones; most would have showed favor toward the one fighting for them, but the undisciplined girl told her champion nothing about his opponents fighting style. He would bite her to death if she disrupted the peace of Namimori.

The fight started and Hibari had become much stronger from the last time Melaine had seen him. His moves were quick and fluent; each attack pending down on Ed, but Ed spent most of his life fighting others and had fought a few men like Hibari before. Whenever Hibari got a hit in Ed kept fighting without flinching, or showing any signs of being hurt. The difference between them was that Ed had lots of harsh experience on his side, and Hibari had immense skill on his.

Things started to get intense and they became Melaine's entire attention. Hibari's right tonfa was aimed toward Edward's head, but at the last second Ed lowed himself so that it grazed his skull and at the same time kneed Hibari in the stomach. Hibari blocked the knee with another tonfa and counter attacked, landing a blow on Ed's left arm. Ed took the chance to grab Hibari's arm and through him toward Melaine. Hibari stopped himself close to the door and charged at Ed again, who was already in front of Hibari landing a punch on his face.

The scent of blood accumulated in the room, and filled it pressing against air ways to get out. Melaine pressed her teeth together, ignoring the calling and focusing on the fight. Hibari had landed a blow to Ed's stomach. Ed had intentionally let him do that, so he had the chance to tackle him. And it worked, Hibari along with Ed was thrown out of the room and into the hallway- of course Hibari went first.

"Ed wins," Melaine announced. Hibari had gotten up, and so did Ed who had already started to rant at Hibari.

"Are you stupid? Humans are omnivores! You're failing science aren't you? And what middle scholar carries a tonfa, of all the weapons?" "And you!" He shouted turning to Melaine "You and your I get everything I want attitude, is really getting old, first you hate the idea of school, but now you want to be at school, and not even that, you want to be in class A-"

"Shut up before I bite you to death"

Ed paused and looked at him blankly. He then turned to Mel and just pointed at the prefect. She nodded trying unsuccessfully to force a smile away. There were a few moments of silence before Ed spoke.

"I'm not even going to deal with situation," and he walked away.

Melaine herself just skipped to class waving goodbye at Hibari, who just went back to his room. Opening the door, she saw none of the guardians were there only a students and the teacher who was an unattractive man in his forties. They all turned and looked at her with mild curiosity, Melaine recognized the girl Tenth liked there.

She was almost pretty; especially with those two puncture marks on her neck.

Melaine smiled at everyone, and walked toward the middle of the class, she paused and then announced to the class "My name is Ayumu Hoshiko treat me well," The teacher raised his eyebrow in question; he knew there was no transfer a student.  
>She turned to him with confidence while saying "Originally I belonged to Class C, but the disciplinary committee transferred me to this class room. You can ask them yourself."<p>

The teacher blanched, and managed to assure her it was perfectly alright and that he believed her. He was about to point at a seat for her, but she was already choosing one for herself. Unfortunately there was a girl where she had chosen to sit. Melaine grasped the girls arm, and sent the desire to move seats flowing though her; the girl blinked in confusion but without a word got up and moved from her seat allowing Melaine to sit there. Melaine had a long time to learn the tricks of a mind, and she had even longer to learn mind tricks.

It was the perfect spot considering that Gokudera's desk was right in front of her. Melaine pulled out the book they were reading and then looked out the window in disinterest. This teacher was boring, and provided no amusement. This opinion she had gave her the motivation to kill him, a concept that was not new to her. Killing was as natural as eating, sometimes they were the exact same; it's natural for a predator to kill its prey.

She had hoped that there was a more enjoyable replacement, but that still led to the fact that any Japanese teacher was more than likely to be an annoying fly. Perhaps she should go to America when her few months were up; their McDonald was cheap, not to mention they were so lax on standards she could get away with anything. They ever had a lot of twenty-four hour breakfast joints. She smiled, remembering all the times she had eaten breakfast at a restaurant in her pajamas.

Her day progressed with human teenage normalcy and boredom, and by the time school was over she thought of faking another death as to escape the problem of having to go to school again. Then again Ed would probably stop her, and she wouldn't be able to see Gokudera again. There was too much loss not enough to gain.

Entering her home, she couldn't detect any sense of a person being there: Ed had left without saying goodbye. She shut the door to the empty house and walked over toward her bed where she planned to sleep until the cloud battle was about to start when she saw a piece of note book paper lying on the bed. Falling onto her bed, she grabbed hold of the paper which was folded in half, opening it up she saw what a drawling of Ed sticking out his tongue, and pulling down his bottom eyelid (the left one).

It was well drawn for an amateur, the likeness was very apparent; Ed was very proud of his work (the drawling), just like Melaine (Chrome's face). She read every letter carefully, took in every curve of his C's and recognized the cursive slant of his vowels. Ed's hand writing was quick and fluent; he only wrote in cursive. For the first time she wondered who had taught him to read and write. Her assumption was that it had been his mother but with Ed, her assumptions were not always correct.

**Dear Melaine,**

**Don't you dare throw this away! It took me nearly **

**half an hour to draw this! If you possessed any **

**common sense then you would frame this. At the **

**very least save it so that when I come back ,I may **

**reclaim my self-portrait. I cannot babysit you, so **

**while Karin and I are away do not cause trouble!**

**PS: Karin and I will be there to visit you soon, so **

**on'****t be lonely.**

**Your dearest friend, Theodore**

Melaine snorted at the note and reread it as she made herself comfortable on the bed. Theodore was a lame name, did she not tell him when they met that his name was Ed from furthermore on. 'Ed is a complete idiot,' she thought.

But never less she held the small note tightly as she fell to sleep; though she would never tell him, it made her incredibly happy for him to leave a note.

* * *

><p>Waking up a few hours later, she saw the sun was about to set and felt assured that she would be on time for the fight. Dressing out of the Namimori uniform, she slipped into some stretchy black pants and a heavy hoodie. They were comfortable clothes; something which will more than likely be useful considering Xanxus' plan would go down tonight. If she wanted to follow the guardians without behind caught dark flexible clothing was her best option.<p>

Going into the kitchen Melaine took out the left over sausage Ed made and warmed it up in the microwave. Hearing the beep she took out the plate, grabbed a fork and dug in. After consuming a few of them, she felt a vibration in the corner of her pants. Taking out her cellphone, she flipped it to read Karin's text message, there were six words.

I thought you didn't eat leftovers -K

Melaine flipped her cell shut, refusing to communicate with Karin anymore. She took another bite of her food, and she admitted that Ed was a decent cook. Now finished, Melaine hopped of the wooden stool and left for the night.

She felt the familiar presence of well-paid whore enter the town

There were still a few hours to kill until the battle started, and she planned to spend them wisely. The first thing she did was stop by Yamamoto's dad's sushi store, where she found the sushi man (Tsunayoshi) who was skillfully cutting raw fish. She smiled at him as she walked in, and he smiled back at her.

"I take it you didn't come for the fish." He commented, in good nature. She laughed, and nodded her head confirming what he said was true. She pushed back a strand of fallen hair over her right ear.

"Yes I'm actually here to deliver some news, and ask a favor," she said this all in a charming manor and he seemed open into hearing what she had to say as he motioned for her to go on with a smile. He still had his hand gripped on his butcher knife.

"Karin will be coming to town-" but she was cut off by the man who looked very pleased with news, and was already chattering away.

"Karin! As in the very same from all those years ago? That's great news! When will she arrive?" He asked loudly and Melaine giggled pleasantly. It was a nice surprise to see him take it this well. Her blue eyes watched the mans every gesture.

"I suspect that she will come in a week or so perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less." She answered making a guess; she had no clue as to when Karin would come only that it would be before the end of the month. He grinned at her, and started to ramble on about the good old times.

"Where will she be staying?" he asked cheerfully.

Melaine saddened her eyes slightly, she was going to try and manipulate his sympathy. By the way things were she probably wouldn't have to.

"This is where I must request something form you. Karin has no place to stay so I was hoping that maybe she could stay here with an old friend." Her voice sounded sincere and kind, not at all deceiving. Her voice was good at lying. He broke into another grin.

"That's even better. Takeshi!" He called to his son, who came down the stairs to see what's up. He looked surprised at seeing the girl, but it quickly turned into his casual easy going smile.

"What's going on pop?" he asked curiously staring at the new comer. He recognized her.

Melaine gave him a cute smile and allowed the baseball freaks dad to explain.

"Were going to have a guest soon Takeshi. A friend of mine is coming to visit." And as he talked to his son, Melaine slipped out the door unnoticed, gone without a trace. She really hoped that it would throw them off their game.

The next thing on her list was to visit Gokudera who she knew was about to leave his apartment at this time and going to wander around until the fight was about to start. She arrived at the apartment complex and saw him as he came outside, and when she came into his eyesight, he irked at her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked roughly. She gave him a smile, unable to help herself.

"I came here to see you." She answered him happily.

He tried to quickly walk off in hopes of leaving her behind, but she matched his pace with ease. Although Gokudera was ignoring her to the extreme, she had no problem carrying on a conversation without him

"My "best friend" visited me today, and left even before the sun went down. I love this friend very dearly though I have uncertainties if our friendship will last. You see I tend to be a bad person at times; it can't be helped really because if I am not a bad person then I can't do bad things, and it is necessary for me to do so to survive. So for the longest time I have done bad things, and all of the things I have done started to mess with my head and-"

"Will you shut up!" Gokudera yelled, unable to take more of the girl useless chatter.

"Will you start talking?" she countered.

"No, go away!" he yelled

"You first!" she yelled back, entertaining herself.

"I've been trying but you keep following me!" he shouted frustrated.

"How do I know you haven't been following me?" she said, and he started to speak incoherent sentences out of what Melaine knew was anger. He was so quick to emotions, she loved it.

"What's with you?" Gokudera managed out, she paused as if considering his question for a moment and then carefully chose her words, though they were not the exact truth.  
>"I want you to be my friend." Melaine smiled at him earnestly, and gave a tender expression. Gokudera became colored at her words and he was obviously taken back, as he jolted a little. But he soon got a hold of himself and shook off the venerable look.<p>

"I don't need friends." He stated looking away from her eyes quickly. She beamed at him, and shook her head back and forth before saying.

"There are people who exist that do not need friends, but allow me to assure you, Gokudera you're not one of them, which is good because those people tend to be lonely and diabolical,"

Gokudera gave her a look which in recent turns could only be described a 'wtf'? Melaine gave him a pleasant expression before he got a hold of himself.

"You're so weird," he said looking at her strangely.

She gave him a shrug of the shoulders and then began walking while pulling him along by his left hand. Quickly he snatched his hand back but never less continued to stroll down the street. He was beyond annoyed at this girl.

"That seems probable," she commented and continued to stride next to him.

Gokudera was one of the most endearing boys that she had met in a while; she often amuses herself with one person when she is looking to waste time. She would have enjoyed the company of Gokudera more, but she had things to so; such as killing a teacher that bored her.

Melaine spared a glance at the watch, and then instantaneously curved to the opposite direction. Briskly she started to head toward her destination when she heard a voice that she had become accustomed to call for her.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Gokudera called. He was thrown off as to why the persistent girl had all of a sudden left. She smiled, he had noticed her leaving. Looking over her shoulder, she gazed at him and waved.

"Sorry, I have to go and deal with something, but I swear we will hang out again soon!" She yelled to him, grinning. He snapped his head forward trying to pull off the 'I'm too cool to care' look, but that didn't stop her from feeling like a giddy child all the way to there. He noticed her leaving.

She arrived at the rather cruddy looking apartment, and knocked on the door; she could sense him inside the crappy apartment. The decrepit wooden door opened with a creak and there stood and unattractive me in his forties, sensei.

"What are you doing here?" he asked alarmed. His attitude was strict, and shocked. Melaine dropped all signs of emotion and allowed her illusions to disperse. The man expectantly grew quiet and stared at her for a moment. Even in her condition she was still uncommonly gorgeous; most tend to stare on site like they would for a strange painting. However, it was not her beauty that silenced him but the fact she had just pulled a Mystique.

Melaine lifted herself up on to the balls of her feet, and lightly touched his forehead, instantly she pushed her will into him. "You will retire as teacher, and persuade the other facilities to hire someone else, then after that jump off a high bridge." She said and then released the man, and waltzed out of his apartment complex, destroying the video camera and footage on her way out. She did not want to deal with a crappy teacher.

Leaving the teachers residence, Melaine figured it would be a good time to head for Namimori, so that she could catch the cloud fight. She considered the fact that the battle will happen all over the school, and to watch them all on the roof is the best choice, so without a second thought she entered the school.

Unsurprisingly Lev showed up first, but soon the others followed and the Vongola team was last to arrive. Gokudera tried enliven his comrades with serious talk, and refused to allow a defeat on their watch. He was dedicated to being a good right hand man for the boss.

Feeling the tingle of a murderous aura, Melaine viewed Hibari coming in and questioning their presence here; Gokudera got pissed off, Yamamoto tried to explain but was cut off by Ryohei who said they were here to support him.

Hibari glanced toward Melanie's direction for a second and then stated to the others "You're an eyesore, if you're not gone in the next second, then I'll kill you."

She was glad to see that his fight with Ed had not damaged him in the least. It would not affect his fight at all.

"What the hell did you say! You just pissed me off something fierce!" Ryohei yelled.

Melaine busted out in silent laughter; she shook hard and thought she might cry. What was with that saying? She had never heard that before! "You just pissed me off something fierce!" she mimicked. Ryohei gained many points, he was such a riot.

She was so caught up in the moment that she almost missed the entrance of the ninth- Gola Mosca. Hibari seemed excited to bite it to death. They entered the cloud ground, something Melaine thought was contradictory.

Ryohei was more upset that they changed the sports field then anything, but Gokudera seemed a bit concerned about the Gatling guns that were to shoot at anybody within range. After the Cervello's explanation, the remaining Varia member started slandering the Tenth for his absence.

Things were getting heated between Gokudera and the remaining Varia, but Yamamoto eased the tension by confidently saying "It's just, there's no need for Tsuna to be here. Because Hibari is our Ace. He won't lose."

Melaine enjoyed the look in his eye when he said that. Xanxus gave a crazy laugh, and Gokudera classified him as a "crazy bastard" which Melaine agreed to. Hibari eyed Xanxus sensing that he was the leader. Melaine eyed Hibari sensing that he was a Dick Tracy.

Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei huddled into their circle and cheered for Hibari. Gokudera was angry for the rest of them for their lack enthusiasm. He felt that they had to be even more loud because that it what the Tenth would want. It was with that the cloud battle began.

The machine flew toward Hibari, who immediately slashed its right arm off causing it to slightly explode. Melaine in that time counted four seconds since the battle began. Everyone, and I mean everyone had their mouth open in surprise; none of them were able not look like idiot in sunrise. It was hilarious. Melaine pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture. That moment made this trip completely worth it. Their faces were the very definition of dumbstruck.

Hibari wasn't surprised in the least and tossed the Cervello the ring. "I don't need this thing,"

He then walked into Xanxus direction "Now you, the one sitting over there. Come down here." He ordered, and then continued "Until I bite you to death, Monkey boss, of the mountain of Monkey's, I can't go home."

"Wow. This guy really thinks it his personal duty to protect this school. Fetish or obsession? The world may never know." She said to no one in particular. There was a goofy smile on her lips; Hibari said funny things.

Belphegor had told the hideous guy of their loss and neither was too pleased about it. Xanxus was silent and then glanced over to his machine. A wicked smile came upon his face as he glanced back to Hibari. Then in a dark tone voiced said what she knew to be true.

"It begins now."


	7. Itchy

Here is chapter 7, and I hope that it is easy to tell what is going on during their fight; it is one thing that I'm worried about. Other than that I would like to thank **thealmightydee9009** who is a wonderful beta. I had Mcdandls just last night and state that it is good and I cannot be held responsibe for any fire that takes place in it's establishment. Also I recommend the story **in hopes of catching you**, talk about a goof KHR story.

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, if I did then kyoko would have an 'accident'.**

* * *

><p>Melaine felt excitement tinge through her body. Letting out a sigh of ecstasy she observed Xanxus launching from his chair toward Hibari. He easily defended with just one tonfa, but his jacket flew off from the force. The hideous grin on Xanxus' face proved what state his sanity was immersed in hate.<p>

Xanxus flung himself away from the Disciplinary prefect with a flip and landed in what Melaine found a pose similar to that of a knight swearing loyalty. "Oh the irony" she stated entertained.

"My foot slipped," Xanxus claimed arrogantly.

"Right," Hibari returned.

"No, really." Xanxus contended, moving out of the way of an explosion, and the added. "I came down only to retrieve that piece of junk. We have lost."

"Hnnn. Your face… tells a different story." Hibari said, and then rushed toward him. He made a swipe at Xanxus but it was dogged. The guns went off in the fighters direction, but neither was hit and the battle continued.

"Don't worry. I won't raise a hand. "Xanxus stated arrogantly.

"As you wish. Anyway I'm going to bite you to death." Hibari replied chasing Xanxus with a string of attacks. Melaine sensed that the machine was starting again, though she could also tell that something was wrong with it. The amounts of life energy (flames) were being sucked into the machine at an erratic rate.

Hibari kept attacking the Varia leader, but every time Xanxus narrowly avoided. Hibari was about to get a hit in on Xanxus but on reflex Xanxus blocked – with his hand.

"You've raised an arm?" Hibari observed in a mocking tone. Xanxus was surprised and embarrassed at his action; he had not been able to evade Hibari with a handicap.

"Cervello" he called.

"Yes master Xanxus" they answered simultaneously.

"Don't get the story wrong, now. I didn't attack him at all." Xanxus proclaimed. He gave another menacing smile. Hibari went in for another attack, but was completely thrown off by a beam hitting his left leg. In a moment of rarity, his whole body showed a state of shock.

He dropped to his knee, and looked at his heavily bleeding leg. Missiles were fired at Gokudera and the other Vongola, but they were able to avoid them. Xanxus said that because of Hibari, he could not get Gola Mosca and that there was no restraining it now. It was a half-assed attempt to cover his ploy.

Missiles went off everywhere, and so did what Gokudera call a "compressed particle beam". Melaine was amazed at his vast knowledge. He knew so much! The machine was destroying everything close to it, including the school. "Hibari is not going to be happy about this." Melaine commented out loud. Xanxus let out a stereotypical evil laugh and claimed with a smile, that this was a terrible disaster.

Melaine could feel the heat from explosions, and the black smoke fill the sky only to be lightened by the fire. This made it only slightly hard for her to see, but she was still able to locate everyone on the field.

Yamamoto couldn't understand why Xanxus was laughing in this situation, and Gokudera seemed to have come to a conclusion about Xanxus intentions. Hibari however appeared angry and clutched the shoulder of his jacket; Melaine didn't think that he was going to let this slide, but she also wondered how he had gotten his jacket back so quickly.

Chrome- who had no trace of marker on her face- stupidly ran into the field of explosions, only to be saved by the lackeys. Gola Mosca had sensed them and was about to blow them to bits with the compressed particle beam. They covered their head and waited to be hit; if it was Melaine she would have done the tuck and roll to get away. "Finally," she complained moments before Tsuna showed up and saved them with a shield of flames.

Through the whole battle Melaine had been feeling the tenth working on his technique, how could she not feel such intense flames? It was utterly tantalizing, but Melaine still wanted to see Gokudera and the cloud fight more than her desire to be close to the Tenth's flames.

Melaine had to giggle. Tenth was so tiny compared the machine, but his confidence gave him the height he needed. All of his guardians were pleased to see him, though they showed it in different ways (and Hibari none at all). With his arrival he brought Reborn and the kid Basil. It was irritating though that the baby had come along with him-but she didn't mind Basil.

Xanxus ordered Gola Mosca to destroy the official Vongola, and Melaine was amused at the fact Xanxus didn't try to even pretend that he wanted stop his machine yet still expected to get away with it.

Watching Tenth fly Melaine felt and admitted out loud that she was impressed. Those who fly tend to be beyond the limits of normal strength, and Melaine liked those kinds of people. She chuckled when Tenth called the machine a block head. No good Tsuna was now calling others names, when did he get a backbone? Oh right, when he went into hyper dying will mode.

Just as Gokudera said all the shells were going for the boss, but he was easily able to doge them all and find a way to position himself in front of Gola Mosca. Then without hesitation, punched the machine, with the might of the dying will. Everything was going according to Xanxus plan.

Everyone was just celebrating the defeat of Golas mosca when Reborn said "Mosca could have fought Hibari at full strength and won the whole contest. He would have thought have killing everybody too. Buy why go through such a long and roundabout way?"

Melaine snorted and said "Glad to see he has you vote of confidence, I think Hibari could have one." Too bad no one heard her, and she was only talking to herself. The machine went for Tenth again, but he stopped it with one hand and punched it with the other; the machine cracked strait down the middle.

The ninth then fell out, and he was not what most would call the picture of full health. The moment Reborn saw, he ran to him a first aid kit, just like a good subordinate should. He then revealed that the ninth had been forced to be the power source. "Why..?" Tenth questioned, shocked beyond words.

"It's not why now is it?" Came Xanxus voice, "Chh. That would be my first question," Melaine rebutted. She didn't think that Xanxus was being very logical, only complete idiots would ignore that question.

"You've gone and killed the ninth boss." Xanxus declared. This was funny to Melaine, considering that the ninth Vongola boss wasn't dead as of yet. The poor tenth believed Xanxus lies and looked at his hands in horror, he was at a loss for words.

"Who was it? Who stuck down the old man with no mercy whatsoever? Who was it? Who split Mosca in half with the old man inside?" Xanxus continued to persecute the tenth with disrespectful eyes.

"Me… It was me… I killed the ninth boss..." he uttered out, horrified, shocked, guilty, and helpless. Watching the tenths reaction, Melaine detected the uncomfortable feeling in her again. The Tenths conscious and sense of right and wrong was terribly great. It was then the Vongola boss spoke.

He went on to say how he was at fault for Xanxus and that he had awoken Xanxus, who hated him and held a grudge, but the part where he talked to the tenth was Melaine's favorite even if it did give her that feeling. "You are a child at heart that… is really mismatched for a mafia boss. I also know that up till now, you have never once fought in a battle willingly. You always have these lines between your eyebrows… clenched your fists as if praying.. and all that is why I chose you to be the tenth boss of the Vongola!"

The ninth, using the power of the flame sent to the tenth a memory of tenths parents, him, and the ninth together when he was younger. Stealing the memory from his mind, Melaine was impressed by Nana's looks, she had a good figure; how did Iemitsu ever get her?

Tears streamed from the tenths eyes and he begged for the old man to live. The moment was very touching until Xanxus ruined it.

"How dare you kill the ninth boss! The despicable way in which you struck down the ninth boss is a challenge against his own son Xanxus, as well as the noble Vongola spirit!"

"What!" Tsuna questioned confuse at the situation, his tears were starting to dry up.

"No need for investigation! The burns on the ninth boss's chest are the undeniable evidence! Now that the boss has been murdered, the ring contest battle is meaningless! For the boss, my father, and for the future of the Vongola I will kill you as vengeance!" Melaine noticed all of the flaws in what he said, and whole heartedly wanted the tenth to put him in his place.

Reborn then explained Xanxus little plot, he even claimed it as a well laid out trap. He told everyone about the details of Xanxus plan and how the Varia boss would gain absolute power by killing Tenth in the name of vengeance for the ninth boss. The cervello played there role perfectly by telling Reborn not to make any legislations.

"Do whatever you want. My patience has run out." Reborn said.

Melaine straightened, was there going to be an unseen development? The cervello showed their nervousness.

"But I will honor my promise to the ninth boss and not interfere…. With my students battles that is. Having said that, I don't know what my student who hates fighting will do…"

Melaine smirked; the baby actually looked cool for second. The tenth however had no response to his word for a second, hesitating, but his resolution became firm.

"Xanxus. I will take that ring back. You will not follow in the ninth boss's footsteps!" Tenth proclaimed. Melaine felt glad to not be in front of that gaze. It was innocent, but determined. The first time she met Edward came to mind.

_**Flashback**_

"_Come, there is little time to waste." Spoke a cool, but distant voice. It belonged to a very agreeable looking girl. Soft blond hair, held upward with curls on the top. Her skirt went to mid calf and was a shade of dark blue, and she had on a light blue, cotton shirt, which was promptly tucked, but not tightly. It was cut at the neck and had a slight ruffle to it. With well fit white gloves, she was an elegant dresser but too young to be taken seriously; she looked around 13. The only thing that stood out was her blue eyes that had two pure silver streaks, and her pleasing looks. _

_Strolling down the street, there was shops on both sides of her, and the majority of people looked happy. There were many glances in her direction but only a few of them were for her, she was too young for that attention but the elder man besides her was not. He was in his early twenties and devastatingly handsome. He possessed the same blond hair, but dark blue eyes with no other colors. Well toned, confident, and a strong jaw. His face was freshly shaved and he looked cleanly, but there was the air of seriousness to him._

"_Do not fret, we shall arrive there soon." He assured her. She doubted him but did not speak her thoughts._

" _HEY! Stop!" yelled a voice from behind but, the two kept walking as if they didn't hear. They kept staring state ahead despite the fact that they heard footsteps running toward them. Judging from the volume the boy was less than a quarter of a mile away, and they had yet to see the building they were looking for. _

_To both of their surprises the person running was getting closer, very fast. They could hear his voice even louder then, he had to be running around three minuets a km perhaps a bit less. Melaine whipped around without warning, and the man stopped with a raised eyebrow._

"_Do you not want to know?" he asked her. She turned her head away from him in a haughty manor._

"_Such a thing I can find later, but I might not find the boy later. You need not wait for me." Melaine said. The man left her where she was, and she had no wish to follow him._

_The boy came up, and by glancing she could figure that he was 17, and decent looking. He was not stunning such as she, there was a flawed quality but the flaws only brought out his appearance even more. Dark blond hair done in pony tail that reached his shoulder, it wasn't the same kind of blond as her, she was soft and light while he was sharp and powerful. _

"_You called me, I assume?" she asked him innocently. He looked very angry._

"_Who do you think I called when I yelled foreign blonds? Why didn't you stop?" He asked loudly. He was so rude, but his accent revealed that he was of English nativity, not German. _

"_I am told to not converse with men I don't know." She informed him sweetly. He looked at her with dislike, but then in less than a moment his gaze changed to something else completely._

"_Where is Robert Scholz?" he demanded to know. Melaine gave him a distasteful look, Robert Schloz is nothing but a ambitious, filthy man. Self righteous, a liar, and just a pawn; She only intended to see him, because he possessed something that she wanted._

"_What business do you have with him?" She inquired, not bothering to hide her antipathy. The boy however was not the least bit discouraged, but rather more determined._

"_Where is he? He is not at his residence, nor is he at the factory. You're the broker, are you not?" he asked, eyes narrowed at her. She saw bits of disbelief in them, he did not believe that she was the broker at all. It couldn't be helped, after all no one believed it expect for the man she was with earlier, but then again he was the one that suggested the idea. It was part of their complicated scheme. Melaine was curious as to the reason why the boy knew about the deal with Schloz; someone has been talking too much._

"_Don't concern yourself with such matters.," She tested trying to see if he would easily be persuaded, but she soon found that there was no need. His gaze was not one she remembered seeing before, it was strong, young, but not naive, no here was no naivety there at all, rather his gaze was… honest. Honesty, something that was neither good nor bad, it simply was. She felt exposed under his stare, but she did not completely dislike it rather it was the opposite. Melaine felt certain that if his eyes were not so intense then the honesty she saw in them would have had less effect, and she would not wish it so._

_**Flash back**_

Watching the Tenth, she saw only minor differences in his and Ed's stare. The Tenth's gaze was neither powerful nor confident, and there was also innocence in them like a child.

Xanxus told him that he would carve his name into the Vongola history book as the foolish runt that dared to defy Xanxus all by his little self.

"He's not alone! The boss' will is our will!" Gokudera said aggressively. Melaine huffed, Yamamoto, Chrome, Ryohei, and loyal Gokudera were all there ready to fight for the tenth with everything they had, Hibari simply said his will was his own, but he definitely wanted to beat the hell out of the monkey king and all who followed him. She didn't blame him, she wanted that to happen to.

Of course the cervello simply couldn't let them have an all-out brawl without rules, they could never let things be fun."Hold it right there, please. We will be in charge of the battle for the ninth boss's battle for revenge." They announced. "You're in charge of nothing." Melaine told them with obvious detest. They would die before the sun comes up tomorrow. It struck her as funny that even if she killed several of them, it would never become public, they were like robots easily replaceable and no one cared what happened to them.

"We have a duty to oversee the whereabouts of the Vongola rings." They claimed

"What the hell are you talking about! Your all Xanxus bitches!" yelled a rightfully enraged Gokudera. "You tell them Gokudera!" Melaine cheered

"Please watch your mouth. We have a official decree from the ninth boss himself," the cervello scolded, Melaine nearly fell, from where she stood.

"No, oh no, you did not just scold the Tenth's right hand man…. Fuck you." She ranted.

The cervello went on about the terms of the battle; Melaine bent down and pulled out a piece of concrete of the ground, and gave a thoughtful look. With one hand she grabbed on to the metal fence, and lifted herself up; narrowing her eyes, she chucked it at her target. Without any warning the large piece of concrete smashed into the side of the cervello's head, knocking her over dead. After ducking behind the solid part of the fence, she smirked at her impeccable aim; the girl's temple was hit perfectly.

"Teach you to scold the right hand man." She muttered. There was a small commotion afterward, but the Varia was unfazed for the most part. Melaine heard Gokudera yell "What the hell!"

Then with a distracting explosion the Varia and cervello left with a mysterious exist. Not a moment after the Cavallone family appeared led by their attractive boss. Dino exchanged information with Reborn while his suboordinates tried to help the ninth boss. Melaine hummed a tune, pleased with how lively today had been, and it was still interesting to watch. Hibari had a very unhappy expression on his face, and when Gokudera questioned why he was so restrained Hibari replied "If this situation can draw out the herbivores true strength, I won't interfere just yet."

They all watched the tenths back; something Melaine thought was a nice view for a moment. He was serious and the atmosphere around him had no hesitation, but a silent sorrow. Reborn destroyed the sight by jump kicking the Tenth and causing him to spaz out.

"Why do you always have to kick me to?" he asked in a high pitch.

"Because I'm really vexed right now." he answered

"What kind of reasoning is that?" Melaine noticed the Dino was pleased with scene, most likely happy that this hasn't changed the Tenth for the worst. These people were such saps.

Melaine woke up to the high pitch ring of an alarm clock, something she didn't remember owning. Ed must have gotten it for her. She should not be getting up this early; her body still told her that it was time to sleep. Normally she would have just started sleeping right now, not getting up. She never wanted to play student, the only good side to this was that her beloved Gokudera would be there. The rest of them weren't worth it, not even the tenth.

Reaching for the alarm clock she touched the snooze button, and wanted to get a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately she caught a glimpse of the clock with read 7:37. she remembered that this wasn't her first time waking up this particular mourning.

Exhaling a deep breath, Melaine sat up in bed and ran her hand through her hair. It was unnatural to get up this early. Millions of excuses to go back to bed ran in her mind but reluctantly she got up off her bed and wearily made her way to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took out the milk, then from out of the pantry she grabbed the cheerio box. She gave a laugh at the fact even though she was residing in Japan she had no desire to eat Japanese food, the idea of it seemed revolting.

She poured the cereal and milk into the bowl then with a metal spoon scooped the food into her mouth. She had two bowls and by the time she was done had nearly wasted eight minutes. Grabbing her uniform she put it on and looked din the mirror slightly curious as to how she looked. The clothes were unnoticeably tighter than they were yesterday, but it was to be expected. Her figure was unsee-able due to the ridiculously baggy clothes Ed had bought her. Quickly brushing her teeth, and running a brush through her hair she deemed herself worthy to be seen by Gokudera and went on her merry way.

She was late to school only by a few moments, but it didn't matter since the new teacher had to yet arrive but neither did Gokudera. She was sure that he would show up today, he was just a bit late. Taking her seat she rested her head on the desk and closed her eyes, sleeping a bit more. At that moment the teacher walked in and introduced herself as the new teacher, and that their old teacher has left due to unforeseen circumstances. Melaine was too sleepy to enjoy any humor from what the teacher was saying and instead stood her book up so that the teacher wouldn't disturb her rest.

Even asleep she was aware of what was happening around her and unconsciously smiled when Gokudera entered the room tardy. He sat down in his empty seat in front of her not sparing anyone a glance; excluding the greeting he gave the tenth. The teacher tried to scold him for being late but backed off when he glared at her harshly.

Melaine who was still sleeping became noticed by the amateur teacher, not that she was trying to be subtle- putting the book up was more out of courtesy. In order not to lose face the teacher mistakenly thought if she was able to scold Melaine for sleeping then she would not be found out as a push over. Taking a wooden ruler the teacher slammed it against Melaine's desk causing her to jolt awake with a foul mood.

"What the hell? Do I go to your house and wake you up when you're sleeping? No, I don't so I would appreciate the same courtesy." Melaine wasn't yelling, but her tone made it clear that she was not pleased. The teacher might have said something back to her if she wasn't confused that she had spoken in French with a native accent.  
>It was a habit Melaine recently acquired but didn't try to get rid of it. Most the kids were amazed at Melaine speaking in a foreign language and did not have a clue what she said, but only two people were able to understand a word of what she said. The first one did not matter and simply decided to learn French, but the second was the most brilliant kid in the class who was more surprised by her presence being here then her dialoged.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Gokudera demanded to know, he was suspicious, but Melaine greeted him a cute smile and threw her hands around him.

"I cannot believe you're in this class too Gokudera. How lucky am I?" She exclaimed in wild joy. Girls shot her envious looks, and Melaine had to hide a smug smile. None of the girls here were good enough for him.

"You're stalking me still? Go away?" he shouted at her looking grumpy.

"Wow dude. What's your problem? I'm not even allowed to learn in my assigned class now?" She asked rhetorically in Italian. Gokudera was surprised and about to question her fluency in that language, but Melaine pulled him down to his seat and started to talk before he had a chance.

"Shh. You should pay attention to the teacher in class." She warned him and pointed her finger at the teacher who looked pathetic in Melaine's opinion. Gokudera tisked in stubbornness but let it ago. Melaine felt a warm smile come to her lips, and from the corner of her eyes she watched the other two guardian's reactions.

Yamamoto was smiling and rubbed the back of his head while saying it was nice that Gokudera had finally found a friend, while the Tenth had his funny freak out expression which matched his thoughts.

"Where do these weirdoes come from?"

Melaine huffed insulted by his thoughts, and turned around, looking him strait in the eyes and saying, "It takes one to know one."

"What the hell?" he thought panicky, and Melaine let out a light laugh at his expression, Yamamoto noticed all of this, but was too easy going to care.

Gokudera was about to turn and look at the Tenth, so Melaine quickly curved back around so it appeared as if she was a good girl, and not at all criticizing the tenth. Gokudera caught the Tenth's eyes and smiled overly friendly at him while waving.

Melaine waved back to Gokudera showing him the same smile he had just given the Tenth. His expression instantly turned into an annoyed glare which the Tenth thought was directed at him. Tenth generation Vongola boss flinched from the glare and had a sudden increase of stress levels. Melaine just smiled sweetly.

Melaine got bored quickly again when Gokudera was not returning any of her notes. Eventually she started to pick at the wood of her desk. Her nails dug into what was now a canvas, forming lines and curves she had etched into her memory. Scratching evenly, she made sure to only go in a quarter of an inch deep only and that she carved every angle perfectly. Endlessly her nails scratched and were not ruined by the cheap wood. After a few minutes she would take a second to blow the shavings away and then continued to chip away.

With little warning the bell rang for the class to end, but she took no notice and continued to carve the image. The shape of the form was completed after second period started, and she took a second to look around the room. The teacher was writing scribble on the board, the tenth was trying his best to learn, Yamamoto was sleeping, and her beloved Gokudera was working on his secret language. She let out a content sigh and then continued to engrave into her desk.

Second period passed without an educational thought as did third period. She didn't take any break except from that first, and her eyes were trained on the desk noticing every dent, scratch, or scribble; she used them all to make her carving more perfect, and twenty minutes before the end of fourth period Melaine jumped up in self-satisfaction.

"And they said my art sucked!" She exclaimed loudly grinning wildly at her master piece, her impeccable carving skills with only her nails had given to her an image sent by some godly force. There was beauty, sadness, intelligence, and a sense of some deep emotion. It was Gokudera Hayato.

She nearly cried at the beauty of what she saw. Melaine pronounced it good, and it was. The teacher however was more concerned as to why she was out of her desk. She gave him a wave of the hand and assured him that it was alright before sitting down, and strangely enough he sat down without argument.

"Gokudera," Melaine whispered leaning as close to him as she could without her stomach blocking the way. He tried to ignore her so she started to come up with a way to get his attention; many ideas came to her, but there was one she liked in particular.

She took out a piece of notebook paper and folded it until it was a thick and small triangle. With a flick of her wrist the triangle glided out of her hand and into the Tenth's left eye. She admired her aim for a second then put on an innocent persona as the Tenth shouted and held his hand over his eye.

"Tenth are you alright!" Gokudera shouted getting up from his seat with worry. He rushed over to the Tenths side and the teacher yelled over Gokudera's disturbance of class. All Gokudera did was shoot him a dirty look before turning his full attention the Tenth.

"You assholes!" Melaine shouted enraged. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her even Gokudera. She turned to two kids she had seen teasing the Tenth earlier that day. She clenched her fists and her face reddened slightly.

"What gives you the right to throw things in other student's eyes? Apologize to the Tenth." She demanded angrily. Gokudera looked pissed to the extreme, and Melaine backed up a step so that he would have a clear path to them.

"How dare you injure the Tenth!" He shouted and beat the crap out of them. Once he was done the teacher gave him detention for fighting in school, and he gave Melaine detention for destroying school property- though he did stare at it in amazement and told her it was very well done. In fact he even recommended that she sell it.

Melaine didn't care what the teacher thought and figured now was a great time to show Gokudera her carving. "Gokudera!" she called to him urgently. After punishing his classmates for injuring the Tenth he finally paid attention to her, though he didn't look happy about doing it.

"Ta dah!" She said holding her hands out over the picture of him. He looked really disturbed at what he saw, and Melaine forced herself to refrain from seeking his thoughts. His look mirrored Tenth's though, who had now also saw the wooden sketch.

She was not nearly as modest about the Tenth's thoughts "She carved him into her desk! And it looks good too!"

"Hahaha! What a good drawling!" Yamamoto said smiling cheerfully. Others started to circle the desk and admire Melaine's work it as it was true genius, she had captured the arch of his lips, edge of eyes, curve of his eyebrows, and the structure of his face. Even the length of his hair and the style was right, every detail was utterly perfect. A masterpiece that she can always look at.

Every student that saw it thought she was some genius artist, they even asked her to do a carving for them; she denied them bluntly and even rudely to Gokudera fan girls who wanted to buy the desk. It was too bad that this only made Gokudera think of her more as a stalker them before.

The bell for lunch rang and Melaine stole some kid's bento before realizing she didn't want any Japanese food. She threw the food into a nearby trash can and rushed out of the school in hopes of getting her lunch soon. There at the school's entrance was Jezebel with a silver platter covered with a silver top, it smelled delicious, and without a thought to manners she took the food from her hands without so much as a hello. "I'll converse with you later! Bye!" She shouted merrily.

Jezebel was in shock but made sure not to show it. She had never seen Melaine acting so young. Indeed she pretended to be childish and was very impulsive, but she never showed a real smile of happiness- just a well-planned one of deceit. She shook her head back and forth slightly, Melaine always found a way to surprise her.

Hungry and impatient, Melaine used her inhuman speed to arrive at Gokudera's class room faster. Everyone was oblivious to her appearing out of thin air. "Hey!" Melaine greeted the trio who was sitting down for lunch. Yamamoto was the only who greet her back cheerfully. She pulled up her desk and set the unusually large platter on it.

They weren't at all paying attention to her though; they had caught a glimpse of Jezebel who was still outside. She could not find herself to be angry at them, after all she had hired Jezebel based on her potential to be devastatingly gorgeous, and like always, Melaine was correct. The young girl she had once found was now a twenty one year old woman, who was the definition of fantasy girl.

"I don't blame you guys for thinking perverted thoughts about her" Melaine with sympathy. "With a twenty four inch waist, perky c cup and tight butt, it's understandable what you want to do to her."

This snapped them out of their daze and made all three of them have red faces, they were even stuttering too. How adorable. "Wait how do you know her measurements?" the Tenth asked freaking out.

"Doesn't everyone know their maids measurements?" She questioned rhetorically.

"No!" Shouted Gokudera who was still blushing.

"Oh, really? That's weird." She commented lightly.

"No you're just a weirdo." Gokudera told her rather meanly, she shrugged her shoulder in response and lifted up the silver top to reveal a medium well steak, it even had the slight butter melted on top. Top class, not any old barbeque on a grill.

"She has such a lunch!" the Tenth thought with panic. Melaine frowned.

"You know Tenth, if you keep freaking out like that you're going to have a heart attack before you thirty," Melaine told him. The tenth looked hopelessly at her.

"Why did you call him the tenth?" Gokudera interrogated.

"Well he is the tenth, right? That's what you called him earlier." She pointed out; Gokudera was satisfied with this answer but still grumbled.

"Just call me Tsuna" the Tenth said, done from spazing out.

"Nah, I'll call you the Tenth".

"Man, you really like Gokudera." Yamamoto commented. Melaine shook her head excitedly.

"I want to be his friend" she told him. Yamamoto laughed and the Tenth instead of freaking out smiled a bit. He was so sweet that Melaine got that uncomfortable feeling again, but there was also a fondness of the Tenth she devolved. They ate lunch together and the Tenth seemed to be relieved that Melaine- as she introduced herself- was not all about obsessing with Gokudera and talked about other things the boys were interested in.

He didn't give a thought to how she knew what they all liked.

The trio got used to Melaine and Tenth was grateful when she helped him with his homework due next period; it turned she was an academic genius like Gokudera. He didn't know that she was just extremely lucky. "She isn't completely weird" he thought at the end of the day, and Melaine smiled sadly, knowing it was only filled with good intentions. He was made of good intentions and she wasn't.


	8. chill, I guess

Hello! I know this chapter was suppose to be out yesterday, but for some reason fanfiction wouldnt let me on. So here it is at last, I just woke up and this is my gift to you. Review are always wanted. I'm curious as to what your thoughts are for my story. My beta reader is the **thealmightydee9009 **she is wonderful. If your looking for a lengthy serious with a good plot check out I**n hopes of catching you**and agree with me that the Ninth is a jerk and should just let Mizuno so waht she whats. If she wants to to join the Varia instead of being head of the upper echelon then so be it. The next chapter will be out in exactly a week as promised. Stay tuned and Review!

Disclaimer: **I do not own KhR**

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><p>The room was filled with a light darkness and the shapes in the room were easy to recognize. The details of their faces are not as clear, but even then you can tell the beauty of the two people. With what seems like a tall blonde sitting in velvet red chair and a young woman with bronze hair and copper highlights, there was a subtle tension in the atmosphere and neither of their expressions could be seen in the poor lighting. The bronze haired girl placed a delicate hand on the blonde's shoulder and showed no other movement than her silent breathing.<p>

Melaine placed her own hand on top of Ancelin's and let out a small sigh. The way she spoke was as if she was making a prophecy, but in reality it was more of an order.

"Long term, Brow Nie Jr," Melaine said. The bronze hair girl shifted her body slightly and the sheen from her natural copper highlights gave off an alluring feeling. She squeezed Melaine's shoulder, and rolled her eyes.

"Vongola's? When?" she asked in a serious tone, which contrasted compared to her lovely face. A small folder appeared out of Melaine's hand and it was all Ancelin required before she headed near the exit, but instead of leaving simply flipped the light switch on and sat down on the small nightstand next to Melaine's chair. Looking intensely over the file she asked the question "Private or public?"

"Private," Melaine replied shortly and then added "I don't want anyone in or out of the Vongola to know about it,"

Ancelin gave her a glance and whistled while shaking her head in a manner similar to disbelief.

"Why is it you enjoy trying to make me do the impossible?" Ancelin asked.

"He's the most susceptible to your charms," Melaine said ignoring Ancelin's question. She then got up from her chair and walked into her kitchen, calling out for Ancelin to follow her.

"Tea?" Mel asked

"Yes please. So who is going to pay me for this?"

"Karin will find a way to do it. When you do see them observe what they're doing" Melaine

"Fine, but then until then I'm living with you, and making sure that you take care of yourself"

"That's fine you don't need to live with Nie Brow Jr, just visit him twice a month and find out what the Vongola is up to. You will live with me when you're not doing this job"

Ancelin laughed and gave Melaine a warm smile. "You are the most selfish person I know" she commented honestly. Melaine gave her a shrug and sweet smile. Ancelin compared her to the first time they had ever met. Sure Melaine's looks were more mature, but something about was younger. Her heart, Ancelin thought.

She appreciated the irony of how she was now evaluating Melaine, the exact way Melaine had on taught her to do to others.

"It is ironic" Melaine agreed. Ancelin jumped against the wall. " You know I hate when you read I mind." Ancelin said anger clear in her eyes. "I know" Melaine acknowledged half mindedly. It was obvious that she was barely paying attention to the conversation; too busy trying to light the damn stove.

Letting out a deep breath Melaine gestured to the stove, and obediently Ancelin managed to light the stove, but absent mindedly wondering what Melaine was so busy thinking about. What she didn't know was that Melaine was really only thinking about Gokudera and how cute he is.

"Why not go for the youngest guardian?" Ancelin asked curiously.

"He's gay."

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><p>Melaine took off her uniform and put on a baggy hoodie with stretch pants. Jezebel was in the kitchen arranging her flight to Italy and Melaine thought it would be kinder not to interrupt her and leave without saying a word.<p>

Landing silently outside her window, she sauntered toward the school. The Vongola boys were alos heading to the school, but at a slow pace. Basil passed her rushing toward the guardians; the Vongola was much closer now. Melaine didn't even hide herself with illusions or any of her other tricks, simply she made sure to be quiet and stay close to the shadows. With her blonde hair tucked into her shirt, and hood pulled up, she easily blended into the shadows.

The boys greeted him but with an air of seriousness, Melaine only paid attention to what Gokudera said and smiled at his faith in the tenth, he thought there was no one better to lead the Vongola. Melaine agreed to the possibility of it. The boy (Basil) then went to tell them of how Xanxus chance to be the boss was truly great, and without saying the words showed his doubt that the tenth will win. Gokudera told him differently.

"Listen newcomer. The tenth boss is a person so great he has surpassed greatness. Only those who understand him will get it."

"Huh?" Basil questioned a little confused.

"Haha. Tsuna's not really that difficult to understand, is he?" Yamamoto said and then added " I'm not sure what it is about his greatness… Well it's like it is so obvious it is easy to miss?"

"You're not making sense at all! You baseball nut!" yelled Gokudera angrily

"Well in the beginning there were times when I couldn't tell if Sawada was great or not." Ryohei started, and it was received with questioning noises from Gokudera, and Yamamoto. "But this is also because his ordinariness is simply not ordinary!" he finished proudly.

"Y-you people stop talking rubbish!" Gokudera shouted at their weird way of phrasing things.

"Then how would you put it?" asked Yamamoto

"Yeah I don't get it anymore!" Ryohei shouted with a straight face. Melaine put her index finger to her forehead and shook her head back and forth, she had nearly forgotten they were idiotic teenagers. Still, it's how young they were that made them react to the situations in a way which Melaine admired. They gave off a light feeling, one that vanishes all those dark and heavy feelings inside of her.

The moment was then ruined by Xanxus entering Namimori Middle School, causing a giant bang that did not go unnoticed by the rowdy guardians. When Basil and the three potential guardians got inside the school's premises, they saw both the Tenth and his opponent-and the baby. Melaine smiled as she stared at the tenth's gaze: it didn't possess that aggressive force she had seen many times in others, his was unwavering and had a kind strength to it.

The Cervello came down from the roof and announced that all the guardians were present including the substitute mist guardian. The boss, and his three supporters worried for a second, obviously thinking that there is no way Hibari would come. But soon after they turned to see the exclusive cloud guardian appear. Melaine noticed he had nice shoes, very business-like and leather. She was almost impressed. Hibari was definitely the most mockingly funny of the guardians. Dressing so maturely, following all the rules, refusing to associate with those under him, and that catch phrase; yep, she always felt like laughing at him.

"What do you want?" Hibari asked with an ambivalent attitude.

"Er, what do I want?" the Tenth asked unsure of what was going on; he was back to being no good Tsuna for a second.

"He's together with us, right?" Ryohei questioned. It was something only Ryohei would ask.

"The cervello said that the Guardians had to come…" Chrome told them trying to clear up the confusion.

"That's right. All the guardians who are still alive were sent a compulsory summons." A Cervello told them with her irritating monotone voice. The Tenth was still not perfectly clear on what was going on. Reborn noticed three of the seven main Varia members which included the baby who dipped out. The mist guardian was locked in a cage, much to Melaine's amusements.

A few of the guardians were thrown off when they heard yells of complaints from behind them. The flamboyant one was objecting to his ungentle treatment by the Cervello. His rowdiness became noticed by the guardians, who showed their surprise at him not being dead. They were more surprised however when they saw the unconscious Veal. The Tenth protested strongly against him (the Veal) being here while healing, but the Cervello refused to listen.

"Because in the sky battle, the six rings as well as the lives of the six guardians are all at stake."

That bit of news enthralled Melaine, the tingle of excitement spread down her back, making her deny the urge to shiver. The possibility of destruction-even of those she liked-gave her a dark pleasure. The feeling prickled under her skin and seduced her heart. It was meaningless to resist or suppress the feeling and felt good to let it try and consume you; letting every nerve in your body throttle with desire. It nearly distracted her from everything else, but it was only a self-satisfying mental state. She was taught to control it and not let the temptation control her. She released a seducing smile, enjoying the haze.

"What do you mean by that!" He asked. "Lambo is already injured! Give him back!" Tenth shouted without aggression. He was one of the few here that did not hold it. It forced all of those sickening wonderful feeling away. His words were spoken with earnestly and his intentions pure. That boy gave her the same envious feeling again, only this time it was accompanied by disgust, directed at her.

"Stand down please. The Varia are in the same boat." The Cervello said plainly.

"Yeah! Quit complaining! Once the summons were received, no matter what condition we're in, we have to assemble. That's the duty of a guardian!" Said the flamboyant one, he was a bit obnoxious.

"Exactly. I'm also hoping that Master Xanxus anger has appeased, and I'd have a chance to help him." Spoke the mist Acrobaleno,.

"Hehehe. How nicely put." The prince commented. Watching his creepy but entertaining personality, Melaine grew to like him again. He told the Acrobaleno not to be so smooth talking in his situation. Melaine thought considering his life was on the line it was the perfect time to be smooth talking.

Yamamoto questioned the status of Squalo, but the Cervello told him that they could not verify it. The rain Guardian was not pleased by this news; Melaine thought he was fucked up for being pained that someone trying to kill him had died, yet didn't catch his own comrade in the gym.

"Let's begin the sky battle." Announced a Cervello without any emotion.

"W-WAIT A MINUET! We haven't clarified-!" Started the tenth, but was rudely cut off.

"If you don't start you'll be disqualified. And Master Xanxus will officially be given possession of the rings."

"Bitch." Gokudera said angrily.

"All right, firstly, we will collect the guardian's rings." They announced. It was received with a loud 'What' from the tenth and most of his team. It was a wonder as to why no one had killed off all of the Cervello yet. They were the most unpleasant of creatures, something that stirred one's harmless malice.

When the Cervello pulled out the wrist watches it became obvious how this battle would precede and what the other potential guardians were to do, she didn't even bother listening to the cervello as she knew what they would instruct. Before they left as required, the middle schoolers formed their circle to cheer for the Tenth. How nice, even Gokudera and the tenth-who at first was embarrassed by the idea-were enthusiastic about it.  
>"Sawada Fight!" they all yelled at once.<br>Then when they departed every guardian said there personal goodbyes, showing that they cared (minus Hibari of course). The Innocent Tenth was touched by the gesture; his face contained a timid happiness.

Not a moment after, another Acrobaleno appeared along with trident mosquito, both gave the spazzy Tenth unhelpful words. That kid really doesn't have it easy, does he? Luckily his attention was taken away by the wretched Cervello.

She looked around and was able to spot the majority of the potential guardians, the mist of course was hidden in the gymnasium (something she laughed at), and she could barely see the black of Yamamoto's head, but it is a greater view than most would have received. At least she can see Gokudera well, but only because she stood on the building across from him.

"We've set up a pole at each of the battle fields. The top of each pole contains a ring of the same type." The Cervello said

"Wha…! The ring… Don't tell me were scrambling for them again?" Gokudera was becoming more and more pissed off with the situation.

" In other words… We'll be fighting too?" asked Belphagor with the usual huge grin, the boy must have been trying to show off his teeth. Melaine understood, he had a nice pair of pearly whites.

"You are all free to do so, that is if you are able to," said a Cervello.

Hibari was the first to notice the strange noise his wristwatch had started to make, but right after they all felt the same poison transfer into their median vein. It was easy to see the unusual pain they felt from it, the only one who didn't appear to be affected by it, was the incompetent Lambo.

"Just then all the guardians were injected with a poison, administrated from their wristbands,"

Those who weren't an Acrobaleno or Xanxus were shocked by the news. They all seemed unsettled by it even Shamal, not the Melaine held him at fault for that. He probably did not expect such a low rate of survival. The one who took it worse of course was Basil, the kid looked perfectly horrified and was unable to form words.

"The poison is called the death hitter. Once administrated, it will paralyze the victim's nerves instantly. Even standing up will prove difficult. Then, a burning pain will spread throughout the body, increasing gradually, until thirty minutes later."

Melaine believed what the Cervello said, the guardians showed all the correct signs of that poison for the amount they were probably given. Falling to the floor, in pain, and a high a chance of dying, in all everything the Cervello just said. Yep, sucks to be them right now.

"N-NO WAY!" yelled a still shocked Basil. The kid was still taking it pretty hard.

"WH- what is the meaning of this! It supposed to be the Sky battle. Why is everyone involved like this!" The Tenth yelled, distressed. Had he not just listened to what the Cervello had said earlier? They went over the whole "Because in the sky battle, the six rings as well as the lives of the six guardians are all at stake." Who could, or for that matter would, ignore such an obvious omen? Then again, there are some who call him 'No good Tsuna'.

The Cervello gave him an answer along the lines of the sky guy has to be understanding and accepting of those lower and even above him. Melaine just thought it all added to the excitement.

Melaine shifted her attention to Gokudera, who was suffering so. 'Ah… poor Gokudera I hope you do get through this, and maybe some of the guardians too.' He looks to be great pain, but refuses to allow anyone to see it; his attempts are failing, quite badly. "Why are they wasting time over there repeating the obvious, while they could be battling and perhaps trying to save the guardians?" Melaine questioned the universe.

She felt the killer intense being released, and looked over in time to see Xanxus strike the first blow at Tenth, she also saw the quicker movements of reborn pulling the trigger. Barely a second before was slammed into the wall by his opponent, a pure flame appeared on Tenth's head. Xanxus thought he had gotten one over on the Tenth, but he underestimated the sun Acrobaleno's skill. A foolish mistake he found out as Tenth merged from the rubble unharmed.

"Tsuna, Xanxus is not an opponent you can fight half heartedly. If you're thinking about saving your six guardians first, you're going to lose your life." Reborn stated. So the acrobaleno does not know the Tenth full heartedly after all. If he had than the questions would not have been voiced, he would have already known Tenth's answer. Melaine had known his answer.

"I know. I'm going to put this guy away first" replied the emotionally calm, and clear thinking Tenth.

After a short exchange of words Xanxus became aware of the increase in the Tenths power. She would have thought that the rumored Xanxus would have noticed such a thing earlier. The Tenth can now be considered strong to her. Before there was only the promising potential, but now it was there, living and growing. It's time for a demonstration; let's see what the extent of his power truly is.

They were acting very official about this battle; they even said start and everything. It was organized to say the least, for such a 'sudden' decision. The reason that they held this tournament at the school is still unknown. Such a thing was either a very arrogant, or wisely calculated. Best to leave all surprises till the end.

Tenth went to attack him, it is a pathetic sight to see. His small body heading toward Xanxus, the difference between their build became increasingly apparent. Tenth made up for his size with excess of flames, but still the sight of seeing this child fight what looked like an adult was funny. "Appearances truly are the spice of life." Melaine said with a smile.

The fight was very eloquent. Tenth tried to punch Xanxus, who in return used his elbow to block it and kicked him into the school, creating a mess of broken stone. The flames were used in order to protect his body from the true impact. The Tenth came back and tried to punch him again, but his arm was caught by Xanxus, who then attempted to use some kind of flame to kill the Tenth. Nimbly the Tenth swished himself upside down and avoided the blast. Tenth retreated and positioned himself on the side of the school building, eyes remaining clear and resolute. Melaine was pretty impressed that the kid could now defy gravity.

"Do you know why the first boss, who used the same gloves weapons as you, ran away to japan and retired there? That's because he feared a battle with the second boss." Xanxus ramble turned Melaine's focused expression into one of doubtful question. She recalled Gritto being a stronger man that that. He was not the type to cower from fear but fight it. The man purposely took on some of the most dangerous people of his time; it is a lie to say he would ever run away.

"If the flame of wrath had crushed the weakly dying will flame, it would disgrace his title of being the strongest. He was afraid of this flame."

"Delusional or deceived?" Melaine questioned with her voice. This guy had serious problems if he bought that gossip.

"Would you like to try it out?" asked Tsuna, his voice was without any malice or even anger. The question wasn't meant to be answered for sure, but at the same time it was genuinely meant. She knew the words were said honestly but not out of curiosity to find out who was stronger. For this once second Sawada Tsunayoshi baffled her. The second ended thought and all was clear again.

"Your flame and mine; would you like to see which is stronger?" Asked the Tenth; Melanie grasped that his words were for Xanxus, Tenth didn't care about strength.

"Buhahahaha! How much of a scum can you be?" Mocked Xanxus as the Tenth came flying toward him. Then he asked in a voice serious as the dead. "You really want to die that badly?"

He was answered by the Tenth coming to him with a tight fist. Xanxus braced himself with an attack of his own and their fist clashed with each other, creating visible waves of the flames radiating off of them. The force did not touch her because of where she stood. But she knew that the flame waves were just as physical as the wind, and if one was to be touched by it. Quite the epic scene really.

Then came a explosion that blew a giant gust of wind in all directions. The cervello were pushed back by it, but the supporters for team Namimori stood strong and rooted themselves against the wind. When the effect of it finally hit Melaine, it was not strength of the wind that bothered her. Against that she stood still and relaxed, but what it brought with the wind was not so pleasant.

All of the scents blasted in her nose at once, the wind was an unappreciated carrier of them, and she could clearly define all scent down there to a certain degree. All of those different smells at one was overpowering, and hurt her sense of smell. She wrinkled her nose, in an instinctive reaction to tranquilize the scents. It nearly distracted her from the fight, but she ignored the terrible sensation, and watched as the Tenth punch Xanxus in the face. Tenth landed in a weird position, and he made an even weirder face.

"I want… to poke it."

For a split second that instinct hit Melaine's nerves, and she knew to turn around and look at what the guardians were up to, so she did. One small laugh came from her throat. To her amusement one of the guardians was moving. No doubt it was painful, but Hibari didn't show it as he was slowly standing up. Then with the accuracy of a drunken person, he began to beat down on the pole.

He is the funniest guardian out of the bunch. Why all of them wither in pain, and must depend on their boss, but then he is the type that refuses to depend on anyone. How great is that? She watched carefully as he struck down the tower by himself and then, with the ring he once threw away, saved himself.

Unlike others, whose visions weren't nearly as strong. Melaine was able to see through the smoke and watch as Xanxus stood up, got out his gun and the shot a powerful blast at the incoming Tenth, who was taken by surprise- he got shot. But luckily his special made sweater protected him.

The fight became increasingly more exciting with this gun into play, just by the looks of the thing, she could distinguish what it was by a glance. She knew the maker of that gun, and that told her this fight was not going to be an easy win. Excellent. With his flame and that gun he made a nice combination, one that is sure to bring out more of the Tenth's power.

Xanxus used his gun to increase his speed, and now seemed faster than the Tenth. The Tenth was followed into the air and shot at by his opponent. Melaine smiled as she saw in what direction his gun was pointing when he shot, but so did the Tenth. He pulled up just enough that neither mist guardian got hurt, but Melaine was still able to receive the view she wanted. The gyms roof was in crumbles now and Melaine had full access to see what was going on in there. The Acrobaleno and the substitute were in her view now, good she worried that she might have missed something with them hidden from her sight.

Xanxus told the Tenth that he did not care for his guardians and showed him the worthless comments they were making. However, out of charity he shot the most useful of guardians towers, something she had been waiting for. Hibari the ace, and Belphagor the genius, oh yes this was defiantly worth waiting for. The guardians were already on the move and Belphagor ran into Hibari when he was going off to kill Gokudera.

"Hnn. You dodged that pretty well. You are the so-call genius?" Said Hibari, after he flipped the ring up to Gokudera. Good aim, it landed only a foot away from Gokudera, who with shaky hands pressed the ring to his wristband.

The joy from watching Gokudera getting up and run was great. He looked so healthy running toward the lighting stadium, it wasn't the pathetic running of normal people, but he was so quick that his body would have been hard to follow for most, like when you wave your hand in front of your face.

He saved the Veal's life just in the nick of time. She could only imagine how cool Gokudera looked to Levi, come clearing to reveal a hot guy, looking like a badass whole smoking a cigarette. Melaine smiled and watched Hibari and Gokudera talk unknowingly at the same time:

"Shall we begin, little genius?"

"I won't allow you to cause all this extra noise during the sky battle."

The tenth watched his guardians and then turned around to Xanxus who was still watching. He beckoned Xanxus to fight him some more.

"Tenth, should have taken a shot at him when you had the chance. He did the exact same thing to you." Melaine complained. This kid had no street smarts, did he? Not even worth paying attention to, Gokudera is the better option right now. Melaine only had eyes for Gokudera's fight, as she hooked her fingers through the metal chain links of the thin fence surrounding the roof.

Not that the battle lasted long, Gokudera easily found out about Levi's technique and defeated him and his umbrellas. Gokudera was very cute as he bent down and cured the Veal of poison. He said a few gentle words, and his expression would make one think he was younger than he was with the vulnerability. Yes, that was what she liked to see, the instant change without changing who he truly is. The most pleasing result of this battle so far.

"I'm glad you didn't die Gokudera," Melaine told him, with the same kind and gentle smile she wore when they first met.

Then the moment was over in a instant as she inhaled the scent of blood and she turned her attention to Hibari and Belphagor. She had been listening in on their conversation while watching Gokudera beat Levi, but to think blood would be spilt so quick, well wasn't that was mean of them. She was hungry all over again but it's to be expected, she supposed.

Her eyes watched them as Hibari was tricked by the thin wires, and made a fool of him. Belapher attempted to kill him with the throw of his knives, but Hibari caught them all in between his fingers. There was a loud laughter vibrating from Melaine's vocal cords, accompanied by her thoughts which immediately turned to words. "What sort of pose is that? Laaamee." She sang. He did have the title of funniest guardian for a reason.

"Heh. I see how it is. There are threads tied to the knives. This is just like the kind of wits used by weak animals in order to survive. In that case… I just have to knock every single one of them down." Hibari did just as he said, and looked much happier for it.

"Are you ready?" Asked Hibari going in to attack. Belphagor passed on the offer and ran way thinking of the big picture. Which was terribly irritating to Melaine, her big picture was watching teenagers beat the crap out of each other, she didn't care how it was done, just that it was.

"All that talk for nothing." Hibari commented whipping his tonfa back into their safe hold.

"I know, completely anticlimatic." Melaine agreed.

After leaning on the side of the building, it came to his attention that there were two guys fighting in the sky. They had different interest in that fight, Hibari was simply taking in the fact that two guys were basically flying, and Melaine would only notice them, when they came to the climax of their fight. Everything before that was wasted time.

They both turned away from the fight and went about their business. Hibari fixed up his wounds with the old cloth method, and Melaine watched Gokudera running through the halls. She didn't even spare a glance when Xanxus shot such a powerful blast that it light up the night like fireworks. Still that does not mean she didn't hear Tenth get up and tell Xanxus that he planned to get the technique right this time-she also heard Reborn's comment. He said that Tenth held the blood of the Vongola.

"No, not the blood of Vongola, but the blood of Giotto." She said her voice no louder than a hush.

Melaine tried to spot Gokudera gain but could not form her position, so she decided to recklessly follow Hibari. Like a natural she climbed over the metal fence and hopped down onto the ground, not even feeling the impact it. For a second it seemed as if Hibari might have noticed, but his eyes betrayed him and he went on-with Melaine close behind. They made their way to the rain stadium and came to Yamamoto, who was withering in pain; she hid herself behind the thick poles. Their exchange was short and Hibari was honest about his reasons for saving the rain guardian, but all the same poster boy was thankful.

Melaine changed her stalkee to Yamamoto knowing he had a more likely chance of running into the storm Guardian. So she followed him in the dark building whose only source of light was the giant hole in the celling and the baseball size holes scartered in the floorings and roof.

The giant hole unwisely wasn't being used as an escape route.

Together they ran into further darkness, with glimmers of light that crept through holes. They were not blindly running around, the cracks of light made it easy enough to see where everything was. Yamamoto already knew where the exit lied so he had no problem moving around, while Melaine's vision allowed her to see everything in great detail and was simply following Yamamoto.

Yamamoto was unsepectine and so vunerable in the dark cave. He was so unaware that she had decided to start her game.

"Hmm!" Melaine purposely giggled, this caused Yamamoto to tense and look around. He appeared to innocently looking around for whatever made that human like sound.

"Its nice that Ryohei was saved." She told him while looking at the glimmer of light which beamed on top of her. It illuminated her soft blond hair and a majority of her body, but there was a mask of darkness on her face, and with his average sight could not make out the detail of her. In curiosity Yamamoto walked closer to her. "Hello?" he questioned a little confused as to why some stranger was there, but the moment he blinked she was gone. Yamamoto was on high alert. Their game had begun.

Melaine had decided that going through the giant hole would be much quicker than following a declared baseball freak. Hibari had left already so she carelessly jumped through the hole and landed on the edge of it. The scent of blood was heavy where she was, too heavy for her to resist. She felt the sharp edges press against her lips, threatening to pierce the soft texture; she rubbed her bottom lip against them, feeling the sharpness. The scent of blood was coming closer, and there no one was looking.

The footsteps of Belphagor were light and not easily heard. He was going toward the gym and would pass this way, unknowing that she lied there, hungry. He was running along the building, narrowing the distance between him and Melaine, who was leaning against the other side of the large building. The moment his foot could be seen ready to turn the corner Melaine arms snatched him by the shirt and flung him against her side of the wall before his reflexes could do anything. His head banged against the wall, but in a show of his skills he was already taking action to kill his attacker.

Melaine grabbed hold of right arm with an overpowering strength, and with her right hand bumped Belphagor's head. He immediately passed out from the flow of energy he received. His body was slightly limp, but Melaine's hold was strong and kept him up as she pulled his shirt down over his collar bone. The blue vein could faintly be seen under his flesh and it pulsed violently, calling forth her hunger.

In a slow manner she slides her mouth at the base of his collar bone, piercing his royal flesh. Blood streamed into her mouth with a thin taste. It filled her, made her whole for those few seconds and gave to her sanctity from the deep hunger. It was not so powerful as to blind her from the world, it was a simple process in which she simply enjoyed herself, as one might when eating cake. So when Yamamoto came as she wanted, it was prepared for.

She knew where everyone's presence was, so the rushing footsteps were a natural thing. She heard the pause as he came upon the scene and released her lips from Belphagor, licking the blood from them. She turned her head in such a way that her light blond hair covers the lower part of her face, revealing those sharp blue eyes. The ghost of a smile started to manifested on her lovely face, but the fullness of it could not be seen for she disappeared before it could be completed.

Yamamoto had just seen something that would force him to doubt his sanity, something that to him shouldn't exist. Yamamoto went to check if his enemy was alive, though it is fairly obvious he simply could not help but to check if there was puncture marks. Melaine felt his surprise at seeing the actual existence of the two small holes. His surprise was even greater when he heard the giggle of a girl behind him. Quickly he turned around and saw the back of blond haired girl. Her hair bounced as she pranced away from him into the opposite direction of the gym. The idiot actually followed.

Of course he lost sight of her when she turned around a corner; to him it was as if she completely disappeared. The boy looked wary, it was a good effect on him, it also proved she was wining this game. Still the relaxed Yamamoto has not lost yet.

She watched him go back to where he left Belphagor's body but it was gone. Melaine expected him to regain conciseness by now, it only takes a few minutes to regain normalcy minus the light headedness. Their memories are tampered with, so that it is as if they have a slight black out, most don't question it. Belphagor won't.

Following Yamamoto bore the fruits she had desired. Gokudera had run into them, and together they all headed toward the gym, where three other guardians were. When the two boys entered the gym they were greeted by a healthy looking prince and Acrobaleno. Yamamoto showed no sign of being unnerved. Not the desired result, but getting an unwanted surprise is not always a bad thing. If he was shaken so easily then this game would have no meaning.

They had a slight problem with the fact that Belphagor and the mist Acrobaleno held a poisoned Chrome as hostage. But Yamamoto tried to pull one over on them, and it ended with the result of him holding his sword to a baby. They had forgotten about how powerful and illusion from one of the chosen seven could be.

The battle annoyed her though sure she was aware of what was going on in there, but the lack of viewing the battle was unpleasing. She couldn't simply waltz in there. Not unless she conjured enough illusion to make it appear as if her body wasn't there but to overpower all of their sense has the possibilities of throwing Gokudera off, unacceptable.

Melaine's body jolted. The power from Tenths's battle was demanding her attention-a drawback of being so sensitive to energy. The battle was reaching its climax. 'Better hurry if I don't want to miss the Grand finale.' Melaine thought.

Four heartbeats, she counted. That how long it took to arrive at the great battle scene. Her body hid in the shadows, but with the amount of moonlight out it could still be seen. Amazing how no one noticed her giggling madly at the sight of them.

"Thank you for providing me with such entertainment Xanxus!" She shouted at them, but her voice was lost in the crashing sounds around them.

Tenth and Xanxus slammed against each other, locked together in a power struggle. Hands entertained, fierce looks, and their energy was so strong that it transformed into a seeable substance. They pushed each other, it was the exact opposite of a tug of war. Until finally there was a last powerful explosion.

Smoke cleared and revealed to all a bewildered Tenth and beaten Xanxus, who's hands were frozen thanks to Tenth's new attack. The power started to subside and Melaine's focus was lost on them and found its way to Gokudera. His heart beat was too high, and his stress level terrible. Those illusions are taking their toll on him; it would be a shame if he died.

It a moment of surprise it was Ryohei that was going to save him. She felt the sun guardian gaining energy for a ferocious punch; this will be a sight to miss. Her body wandered to them before she even noticed. But unfortunately she arrived half a second after Ryohei smashed the place to bits. Still this was a nice opportunity for the game.

There was nothing but rebel and all the guardians were buried underneath and she knew they were unconsciousness, if only for a short while. Melaine found Dokuro and brushed a kissed against her neck, only piercing the skin not tasting her blood. The taste of poison was terrible, not something she was interested in ever trying again. Yamamoto who was the first to emerged from the reble caught sight of her.

"Dokuro!" he shouted alarmed, so in a gesture of kindness Melaine threw the girl to him, also taking the opportunity to escape.

Once again Yamamoto was unnerved, her win again. She was so engrossed into her game that she had not notice the Acrobaleno leave, but it was fine for she spotted him too heading toward where Tenth and Xanxus was. How did he fly again? It wasn't time to worry about that, their game was still on, and she was still debating whether she wanted skylark. It would be difficult to top it once the action was done.

They went in different directions, but she arrived at the Sky battle arena first, just in time to see Xanxus having a mental break down. He went on about how he was the tenth boss of the Vongola, and that he would not submit to the Tenth. All that got achieved him was a punch to the gut by the Tenth. The a strangest thing happened, the Tenth's dying will mode was put out by himself, and there he stood with that same scared, innocent gaze, his eyes were stronger this time, they were unwavering, stronger without the loss of goodness.

She watched how Tenth, with the eyes of a savior used Zero Point Breakthrough First Edition without the dying will flame appearing on his head. Truly the boy is of Gritto's blood.

Xanxus became encompassed in negative ice, and Tenth's head started to burn with his dying will, and everything was calmed for a while. Then the Acrobaleno entered with the other six rings and freed Xanxus. They placed the Sky ring on his finger, but for some reason it rejected his blood, causing it splatter all around. Though the strange thing was that they all look shocked when it was announced Xanxus and the ninth boss of the Vongola. Was it not an obvious fact? They did not carry any similar features nor similar scents. Hmm…. These people are dumb.

Squalo, who as she assumed was alive, then went on to tell of Xanxus life, and what led up to the cradle affair, all of which she deemed unimportant. He was present due to the Cavallone boss. However, the Tenth had those non malicious eyes as he went on, and she could not shield from words that held no connection to her. In the back of her mind, she recognized the other guardians were nearly in the clearing

"The ninth boss didn't care about bloodlines or the law. He believed in you more than anyone else. The ninth boss had always treated you as his own son…" The words held no meaning for her, but because they came from such a guy it felt as if they should. "The difference between him and Gritto, I suppose" she idly thought.

Xanxus told the Tenth off and ordered the Varia to kill them all, but the Vongola guardians finally appeared ready to stop them. Then the mist Acrobaleno- who was very talkative today- claimed that fifty more members were on their way. Melaine however sensed only four people of noticeable might, though there was one that surpassed all the other three combined, and if she was correct, was chasing them.

There was slight panic when it was found out that the Varia had sabotaged the box containing Basil and company. Then three weirdly dresses people showed (safe to say they were in the Varia), but it was also clear those three were being chased. Then not a second after the Varia members babbled on about some man as strong like a demon who whipped out all the other Varia members.

He sounded like an interesting guy to her.


	9. a bit dumbstruck

Holy crap! My computer has been telling me it is nine o'clock instead of almost twelve. I must rush! Lots of explecnation of Melaine in this chapter! beta **thealmightydee9009**, read **In hopes of catching you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

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><p>The demon man was someone who she had seen once before- he had been at Kokuyo land. Her suspicions were confirmed when the appropriate party (Tenth and his guardians) recognized him as "Lancia- san" and the Mukuro lackeys look thrown off at his appearance. Melaine understood everyone's surprise at the man's presence in Namimori, and at the information it was Mukuro who had convinced him to come to the Tenth's aid. After all who would have guessed that the evil aura she felt a month ago, had been changed enough that he indirectly helped the boy who defeated him. Mukuro proved to be interesting once more.<p>

Apparently he was known as the strongest man in northern Italy; Squalo looked strained as he told them this. He should be considering this man's strength; such a thing was to be intimidated by. Thanks to this outrageously strong man the Varia was suddenly went from having the advantage to having the disadvantage. However, the only worthwhile thing he did was take out the Varia subordinates- Melaine wasn't impressed. Perhaps if he had killed one of the core members she would have been slightly galvanized by him, but no, he only killed the reinforcements.

Because of the demon man called Lancia, everything was then in the guardians (as they could officially be called) favor. The Varia only fought when they had a high chance of winning, now that their chances have gone down to less than five percent they will forfeit. How anticlimactic, not even one notable person was going to die or be mortally injured.

"I'm out of here." Melaine proclaimed loudly, even though there was no one close enough to hear her. She was already walking away when she heard Xanxus talking to the Cervello; he learned that he was a fool to trust them. Melaine could also hear the officiating of the Tenth's guardians and the fact that he's now the successor.

"(sigh) with this ordeal finally over, I felt as if we've become closer. We're on a first-name basis, now Hayato." She giggled wildly, after saying this. Slipping away from the greatly destroyed school, she came upon Jezebel looking lovely as ever. Her metallic hair shimmered in the bright moon-light.

"Hello," Melaine greeted casually. Jezebel wore a somewhat focused expression.

"I thought I felt something from over here." Melaine knew Jezebel without her looks, was simply a clever human who does not have the blood or sense to be able and feel the might of people of attacks. Disappointing, but Jezebel was mostly oblivious to the fights that were going on inside the school.

"I didn't feel anything." Melaine told her, lying for no reason. Jezebel knew better than to trust her words, also she saw the destroyed buildings of Namimori.

"Did you do this?" Jezebel questioned, feeling twice her age.

"When are you leaving?" Melaine asked, switching the subject. The atmosphere immediately turned to one of a subtle seriousness.

"I will be getting on a flight at nine thirty pm tomorrow." Melaine gave her a sharp nod and walked away without a hint of humor on her face. The air around her body seemed colder, empty of any warmth. There was no indication of pleasant emotions around her; she wasn't acting silly at all. Considering the obvious chaos that just occurred, Jezebel found this strange.

"Should you not be happy? I expect that you witnessed something unique." spoke the soothing voice of Jezebel.

"Who could have such an emotion when I am bound by this identity, and the need for secrecy?"

"Then do you wish to be free from such burdens?" Jezebel questioned. The blond turned herself slightly showing her front to Jezebel. Her question was answered with Melaine's bright eyes; there was no need for vocal response, the answer was crystal clear.

There Melaine went asking for the something difficult to obtain again, and it wasn't like Jezebel had the skill do what Melaine was insinuating anyhow.

Melaine wished to kill the family of her identity simply so she didn't have to keep up with appearances, and she also wanted to come out of the closet and just say she was Melaine. However, the slight problem with that is the baby would then tattle to the Ninth, who currently they (Melaine and Karin) were in no position to keep his mouth shut. That was one of the bigger reason as to why Karin and Ed were not in Namimori with her presently; they were finding a way in which to convince the Ninth to keep him and his hit-man silent when they find out Melaine is playing with the young Vongola.

It was obvious she was bound to be revealed eventually, so it was a race to see which happened first; Melaine being found out by Reborn and then reported to the Ninth boss or Karin finding out information that would persuade the Ninth boss to keep quiet on this 'little' matter.

Late the next day…

"Melaine?" Jezebel called. Her voice could be heard all through the house, but there was no answer. She yelled the name again but was only greeted by empty silence. She looked all through the house but could not find the light haired blond. Her first thought was that Melaine went to kill off this Ayumu Hoshiko's family. But after thinking about it for a few moments she realized the drive to their house was four hours, and Melaine was never a patient person. So the next conclusion she had was that Melaine went to play with the Vongola guardians but then dismissed it. Surely she was not so reckless….

Jezebel hurried down the stairs and grabbed her shoes while heading out the door. Soon she running toward the Sawada residence and becoming more of a nervous wreck by the second. She was in such a hurry that she didn't even notice passing by Melaine, who was on her way home.

"She never gets this worked up." Melaine commented innocently, correctly guessing the situation in her head.

Jezebel had been wrong. Melaine was not out playing with the Vongola, she had gone to her monthly doctor's appointment. Kana, her doctor was becoming insistent on her now going twice a month. Melaine agreed to it, but like usual she lied to her doctor. There was no need to lie to her, but Melaine did it all the same. Lies often spread from her lips, and it was no longer something she questioned. They were as natural to her as air, but it was time which made her like that. When she had not yet lived an entire century lies were not something she was accustomed to, in fact they were close to non-existent for her. Back when humanity was still young the concept of deception was rare, but that did not mean humans were without brutality.

When Melaine was still a child, she had the innocence which came with it. Hurting people, cruelty, and malice were thing that she had never given to anyone. Learning a good nature from a sister who was fifteen years her elder, she knew that despite how she was treated, wickedness was not something to be practiced. She might have learned this character from her birth parents, but they died too soon after she was born. Their parents died rather late considering the age of death in that time was around twenty-two, and her parents had lived seven years past that age leaving their eldest to become the care taker of the youngest. They were kind people who had shown love to their eldest despite her unnatural aging and hunger; this had given their child a good disposition on life and humans. Melaine's sister was kind and righteous, never doing harm to humans, so Melaine was taught to be the same. She was also taught how to control the speed of her body's growth to zero, something that greatly helped Melaine when upon humans. Most never thought the monsters they were so wary of could take the shape of a child.

However, her sister died and Melaine's innocence died with her. To live on her own she figured out how to trick, pretend, and kill. She went insane from it; her sister who had taught her to be good and care for those humans had left her with a strong conscious. One which powerfully disagreed with the necessary actions Melaine took to stay alive.

She could not bear her deeds, and it pained her to live; but no matter what she refused to lose the will to live and was determined that no matter what the obstacle, she would survive- even if it meant she had to survive herself. So slowly she killed her conscious. It was difficult but over a few centuries she became a loathsome creature, and instead of staking pain from her heinous actions, took pleasure. Allured to the feeling of immorality she overwhelmed the feeling. She took it in, and it became a part of her she would not break. It kept her alive and if she must sin to live, then so be it. Lies and deception were her favorite past time and evil became her nature.

That did not force her to give up any emotions. Love, anger, sadness, happiness, and other emotions were all a part of her. She could enjoy a day just like anyone else, maybe even more so since she had nothing to hold her back. Melaine could laugh with the Vongola one second and bite them the next. It was exactly what she was going to do; only she wanted Yamamoto Takeshi to witness in hopes of corroding his sanity. Even if Yamamoto wanted no part of this game Melaine had already started to play, and she decided who and when you're in the game.

She also decided that she would visit Hayato today. She would find that it was one of her less clever whims later on.

She took all the time in the world to arrive at his apartment. She stopped for ice cream, shopped for a summer dress, and even took time to burn down the McDonalds they had started to rebuild; she sent an angry letter threatening to bomb its Japanese headquarters. Really her journey to Hayato's house took a few hours.

Going through the front door of the apartment complex, she waved to the front desk as she passed by. She sensed Jezebel on the floor where Gokudera's apartment lied. Taking the elevator up to his apartment, when the lift reached its destined floor, the stainless steel doors slid open to reveal her beautiful employee standing outside Hayato's apartment.

"Jezz, you look like a stalker standing outside his door like this," Melaine told her. For some reason she acted as if hypocrisy did not apply to her. A frown marred her enchanting face; she did not like that nickname at all: it sounded like jizz.

"I thought you would come here." Jezebel stated.

"Really, and here I was under the impression that you would be rushing to young Tsunayoshi's house." Jezebel gave her a light glare in response. It annoyed her that Melaine laughed as she went on a wild goose chase.

"You shouldn't be doing these dangerous things!" she warned in a yelled whisper.

"Don't worry. It was only a momentary relapse; I won't burn down anymore McDonalds."

"What! Then that was you in the car chase, with the crash, and McDonalds arsons?" Melaine looked at her suspiciously for a moment.

"I refuse to say anymore without my lawyer,"

"You cannot be doing these things PREGNANT!" She said yelling the last part. She wanted her to extra careful when in her delicate condition, not the normal carelessness. She understood that her kind was a little bit stronger in their pregnancy, but a baby was still a baby and they were extremely vulnerable in the womb just like any other baby.

Before Jezebel was able to blink Melaine was already across the hall clamping her hand over Jezebel's mouth. Her posture was calm and stern; she seemed taller and less relaxed. Those eyes strange blue eyes with their sharp slices of silver were precise and ready for a kill. She was delicate and deadly like her usual persona, not the facade she had usually kept when with the guardians. Jezebel felt a drop of sweat snake its way down her back, and fear hum in her bones like unnerving vibration.

"Were you not taught to watch you words?" She hissed. Jezebel shuddered and remembered her place. She was not a nanny to look after Melaine; she was an attendant to serve Melaine. She did not question or scold, she pleased by doing whatever Melaine asked. If Melaine said to jump then her only question is how high.

"It is my wrong," Jezebel whispered her tone clear low. She knew better than to show any emotion in her voice.

"We shall leave for the night, I do not want for you to comeback without the heart of Brow Nie,"

"I understand. It will be done."

They left with Jezebel walking behind Melaine in her rightful place. Many glanced as they saw the girl walk confidently with a much taller and better looking woman follow behind. It was not a common sight, but Melaine and Jezebel were not common people. Those two women can be labeled as unreachable, yet they have both been touched. Jezebel more than Melaine.

The next morning at school Melaine was asleep at her desk, the one that had Hayato's picture carved into it. She wasn't snoring but looking tranquil in her time of rest. Her blond hair was like a soft blanket covering her face from the view of the students and the student from her view. They all rushed around her and chatted away as if their life had any meaning and that there wasn't a sleeping person trying to rest. Her body needs a few more hours of sleep than most of these brats.

Her irritation started to grow as she felt some punk approach her carved desk. She heard him chuckle as he knelt closer and roughly brushed her hair way from her face. Melaine was aware of his action and decided that if his pencil touched her nose she would rip his throat out. No one disrespect her like that unless it's part of a game, like the one she has with the Vongola and Yamamoto Takeshi.

She could tell that the pencil was slowly getting closer to her nose and she felt her fangs slid further out of her gums in anger. The pencil came closer to her nose, and this kid came closer to dying. The eraser part was near enough to her nose that its fumes charged into her nostrils. Just a few more centimeters. Melaine was ready to attack her with the pencil's tip nearly touching her schnoz.

[BAM!]

Melaine's eyes flashed open and her blue orbs took in this most incredible sight. Hayato stood over the punk who thought to defile her smelling machine with a smelly pencil. It was easy to see by the kids' swollen cheek that Hayato's fist had connected while containing considerable force.

"Don't fuck with her." Hayato commanded with his strongest and most protective glare. The kid shriveled in pain and crawled back to his desk in fear. The whole classroom stared at the awe inspiring man, especially Melaine.

"Thank you Hayato~" She said cutely.

"Don't call me that!" he shouted. Melaine was a bit puzzled by his kindness, but there was the chance he was angry for some reason and wanted to vent. His words didn't add up though. 'Perhaps he came around?' Melaine questioned, not really believing it.

Everyone came to class like usual and went through life, Melaine heard Hayato talk about how amazing the Tenth was in his fight and how he knew that Tenth would win. Hayato's eyes shone in that deep adoration they always filled with whenever his mind thought of anything connected to his boss. Tenth couldn't take the flattery and became a little nervous by it, which caused his face to color and voice to rise in tone. Yamamoto kept his eye on Melaine for the entire first class period. She smiled happy that her little escapade was burned into his mind; she would burn more illogical realities into his noodle when the time was right. In other words, whenever was convenient.

Reborn wasn't at the school with his student today, so Melaine took some of her class time to find out why. She uncovered the desired information from the Tenth's mind: the baby was visiting the recovering Ninth boss all day. What a loyal hitman, not leaving his bosses side for an entire day. It was not something to be surprised about though, the baby is known for being the current Vongola's boss most trusted hitman for a reason: absolute loyalty. His loyalty would provide a great opportunity for the 'innocent' blond. Her bonds with the guardians were sure to deepen in his absence; they were to deepen in ways even she didn't know.

The day was relatively pleasant (if not a little strange) for Melain. Hayato was exceedingly nice to her for the rest of the day; he did small things like picking up her fallen pencil (test), carrying the boxes that she was supposed to, and yelling at anyone who bumped into her. He was like an overprotective brother, and it wasn't one of her favorite reactions on him. Around the end of lunch she forced him into a janitor's empty closet- and it was not to play seven minutes in heaven.

"What is with you?" She asked innocently. Gokudera looked really uncomfortable, like he wanted some fresh air.

"I know," He said not looking her in the eye. She smirked in anticipation, her eyes locked onto his green ones. This could prove to be very interesting.

"What do you know Ha~ya~to~?" Melaine said separating every syllable of his name.

"I know you preg- [PTAT!]

Melaine slapped him across the face leaving a red left cheek.

"No I'm not," she denied. That moment she didn't understand why she had slapped him or denied it. Melaine quickly took control of the situation.

"Sorry, you scared me saying that." She said forcing tears in her eyes. He bought her act but still looked really angry at being slapped. He stormed out of the room pissed about his red cheek; the door slammed behind him. Melaine stayed there a little longer, trying to figure out why she had that reaction. Leaning her forehead against the wall she let out a breath and thought over the first time she found out about her 'condition'.

FLASHBACK

'_I do hope his death is worth it." Karin said her black eyes gazing through the wide field of nature. They were out in the woods of Russia and the sky threatened to rain with its grey color. Melaine was going through the most thrilling moment of her life; she could still feel the echo of ultimate happiness in her body._

"_It was beautiful," she whispered with less sound than the rushing wind around them. Sticks and leaves crunched beneath their steps. They both remained silent while Melaine got off on the feel of her ultimate kill. He was dead, never to come back and it was all by her hand. She tore out his heart and bled him before ripping off his limbs. The blood was everywhere, especially on her; she left prints of blood in her trail. His death was still fresh, it had not happened less than two hours ago and she could still rub the thick ruby liquid in her hands with excess of the substance. Karin was free of any blood on her body and had taken out his mortal subordinates quickly and without hesitation. They all had a clean death by her sword. Melaine's Uncle did not receive that luxury; Melaine watched him suffer as his life ended for good._

_Karin was particularly on edge tonight, even in these circumstances she was very tense; Melaine could not understand (or care to) why. There was no one following them, if there had been she or Melaine would have sensed it and taken care of the problem by now, so what had Karin on guard?_

"_Your nerves are riled, why?" Melaine asked not concerned about anything. The shiver of happiness from when she plunged her hand into his chest was still present._

"_There is something here, weak but here," Karin stated calmly. Melaine was still without worry, it mattered little; she had never been more content with life than she had for the past two hours. _

"_You are sure that it is not a small animal, or even a bug?" _

"_No it is that of vampire, though that is all I know." _

"_Most concerning," Melaine said not meaning a word. Karin refused to frown at her insolent behavior._

"_So close, but incredibly weak, too weak. It may not even be a presence," Karin was wary of such a strange thing. She asked herself the most logical question. 'What could be so close and weak that we could not see? Something that is a vamp-'she knew with a dead certainty the answer to that question. _

"_Your heart skipped a beat, what is wrong?" Melaine questioned._

"_Thirty one days," Karin counted. Melaine knew what had taken place on that day; she had been the one to do it after all. All the dominos in Melaine's head fell at that moment and spelled out to her what Karin was assuming. _

"_Not probable." Melaine shot out. The chances were less than one in a million._

"_But possible," _

"_I would feel a heartbeat inside of me."_

"_Not at thirty one days, but you will in perhaps a week or more," Karin said and that was where the conversation ended. Melaine did not accept the idea until two weeks later where she could sense a slight beating in her stomach. It was very faint but she knew that it could only mean one thing. She was with child. Yet she hadn't done anything about it, she hadn't been happy, sad, or angry. She just shrugged it off as if someone told her she had a cold and in seven month it would be gone. (Vampire pregnancies' take 2/3 of a human pregnancy)_

_Karin had made all the arrangements and chose Namimori as the location for her to stay; she had called Melaine's doctor Kana, and even found the girl Ayumi Satako. Ed treated her differently as well; he stayed with her all night when he found the new, probably to comfort her. He even offered to marry and take care of her, though Melaine laughed in his face. She had considered saying yes just to break Karin and him apart but figured that if she did then Ed would be worse than a nagging nanny. She never wanted a nanny, not even Mary Poppins._

_FLASHBACK_

Melaine didn't care about what was to happen, she never cared about anyone but herself. Still, even she was curious as to why she didn't know there was a thing inside her before Karin did. Kana said that because the fetus was so small she couldn't feel it or hear its heartbeat. Apparently, at the time Karin had found out about her condition, the fetus was the size of a pea. Melaine wasn't impressed and just did whatever she pleased as always. The only reason she had been keeping her actions on a smaller scale than usual, is because she must play dead for a bit. Simply, she was going along with her plan and she never messed up her own plan.

She concluded that she might be blocking the impact of her condition. Melaine had thought because she was such a cruel person she did not care for the life in her, but perhaps it is that she had not fully accepted the weight of the idea that she was carrying. She had been so angered when Jezebel was about to say the word and even slapped Hayato when he was about to say it. Thinking about this she slowly ran her hand over her stomach, she felt how it was soft and round the skin was and noted that she wasn't big compared to most women. There was a undeniable bulge but it still had a chance of being hidden. She was still able to cloak her condition, but not for long. She counted a month and a half till her due date. For a human it would be a little over two months.

Melaine smirked when connecting seven months to seven guardians.

She knew that Karin had planned out everything after the pregnancy and so had dear Ed, but she herself was unaware as what was to come. Melaine enjoyed the surprises of life and only planned when she had a particular urgent goal like with killing her uncle; she was free of such a thing in this situation (hiding out). All Melaine wanted currently was to play with the guardian a little more and maybe she wanted to bite them all too.

"Hmm…. Who's next?" she questioned out loud, her previous thought gone from her head.

Arriving back to class, Melaine saw Hayato with the Tenth and Yamamoto. Tenth was incurred about Hayato's red cheek with worry written across his face, and Yamamoto gave small chuckle; he wasn't concerned at all. The light was shining just right and together they looked so natural and right. Tenth was in the middle with translucent, innocent eyes and Hayato was on his right playing off the slap as if it was nothing although his cheek did sting badly, Yamamoto was on the left taking in everything with a strong gaze. They were all wearing their uniforms in their own style each looked appropriate for that persons personality. It was such a typical middle school scene Melaine felt it was too natural.

"Hey boys," Melaine greeted, Tenth looked up at her voice.

"Hello Melaine-san," Tenth greeted back, he was the only one that did.

"Here is a cool rag for your cheek." Melaine said to Hayato and tossed him the small damp rag with was chilled. Grudgingly Hayato placed it on the side of his face with was bright red. Yamamoto looked at her with a hidden expression. He probably put two and two together about Melaine giving Hayato a rag for his recently slapped cheek which they (Tenth and Yamamoto) just found out about. Yamamoto Takeshi could be a very perceptive guy if he wanted to.

"Thanks." Said the Tenth; he was being grateful for Hayato who did not thank her. If someone slapped me I wouldn't be giving them a 'Thank you' for a while either.

"It's no problem, are you ready for the health check-up next period?"

"HII! I forgot it was today!"

"Tenth, chill it is just a health checkup." Melaine said not understanding why he was upset. With all the training he got his body should be in pretty good shape. Does he get flabby that quickly?

"What if you find out you have Nibutori*?" Yamamoto asked curiously.

There a silent pause and then with crazy strength Melaine's hand flew with her fingers curled in toward her palm. Yamamoto was knocked from his position and fell backwards from the force. She had hit him strait on his nerve line which lied in the left side of his face. He was out.

"She's not fat you Idiot, she's pregnant!" Yelled Hayato.

Of course he yelled this at the same moment Melaine's fist connected with the Baseball nut's face. And of course the whole school heard it.

* * *

><p>*a spook diseases which causes women to become fat and lethargic.<p> 


	10. impressed!

Thank you for the reviews and support! I am so happy, that I can not describe it! The world seems bright. This is probably my shortest chapter ever! I was also told that this is one of my best. I want to thank my beta **Thealmightydee9009** who gave me very kind praise. Read 'In hopes of Catching you', the story is SO EXCITING!

Disclaimer: I do not own **KHR**

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><p>Melaine spent most of her school time becoming more known to the Vongola guardians. She ate lunch with them frequently but never when the arcobaleno was there; though recently the gun-shooting baby was absent from Namimori-middle. First Reborn had been preoccupied with his boss's critical condition, but the current boss of the Vongola had healed quickly and went back to Italy without a word to anyone.<p>

Reborn has unadvisedly given Tenth a slight break for defeating Xanxus and saving his guardians. It was a generous, unsaid gift from tutor to student. This break was not a wise idea since Melaine took full advantage of it. The pregnant teenager quickly became acquainted as a friend of Tenth and Hayato. During this time her imaginary plan had gone quite swimmingly. Not only had she become friends with the Tenth and his right hand man, she was also known to Hibari through a rather 'intimate' encounter in which Yamamoto Takeshi had stumbled upon. Unsurprisingly, it had not been simple to land her (bite) mark on Hibari.

It had taken a lot of effort a dirty trick, but none the less it was achieved! Melaine was very careful when whipping his mind clean of the event and was sure Hibari didn't remember being bitten in the slightest. Still, whenever he saw the blonde-hair student his eyes gave a harsh glare, on for those 'if looks could kill' stares. He didn't not know or care why, but Hibari Kyoya was pissed off whenever he saw her. He had been tempted to kill her on several occasions and tried on two of them, but something would happen and he left to carry out discipline.

Obviously it came out that Melaine had something cooking in the oven but the middle schoolers weren't mean about it at all, in fact the girls adored her for being knocked-up. The guys never showed a particular fondness of her, but knowing that she's pregnant, they felt the need to not fuck with her, and she could handle that. The teachers however, scorned her but that didn't matter; sticks and stones.

The only decent thing about this was that Hayato treated her different from everyone else, only to she did he try to profane from being too harsh. He acted a bit fatherly saying things like "You can't do that!" or "Idiot! You have to be careful!"

Hayato couldn't let a pregnant girl do dangerous things even if he thought the chick was weird. So he grudgingly tried to be kind of nice to her even though it didn't come out well. The guy was clumsy when it came to being nice to someone that wasn't the Tenth (or even when the person was the Tenth). Melaine enjoyed having his attention so much, though it was only when he saw her doing things that she probably shouldn't when pregnant. Not to forget that the Tenth was still number one in his book.

Melaine was now a recognizable face for the young Vongola guardians, but not for the baby. He had been getting back to his usual routine of being close to Tenth, but even then the baby wasn't stuck to his hip. For an instance one day the boys had decided to go to a movie and Reborn decided not to go along, so Melaine went instead.

* * *

><p>Melaine smirked as she watched the three boys make a small ruckus in front the movie theater. Hayato shot Yamamoto a furious look who just gave him a breezy smile. The Tenth looked at a cross between skittish and pacifying; he was trying to calm down Hayato but he himself was high strung.<p>

The baby, Reborn, was not in the area for a moment and would not be for the next few hours and Melaine knew an opportunity when she saw one. The situation was just right and after hanging out with them for lunch she decided to actually spend some free time with them. Well, with Hayato at least and that would include Tenth and the other guy, Yamamoto.

After secretly listening to them yesterday, she knew that they planned on seeing a movie today and that Hayato would be paying for all of them. He only intended to pay for himself and the Tenth, but Yamamoto decided to 'forget' his money so Hayato would probably end up paying for all of them since Tenth wouldn't want to see the movie without his jerk of friend. Melaine had worn shapeless orange shirt that screamed flashy and a pair of deep blue jeans. Her outfits never made much sense.

The boys were huddled together talking about something each with their own expression. She decided to listen in.

"I'm so sorry Tenth!"

Tsuna gave a nervous smile which looked more like a grimace, "It's alright. At least Yamamoto brought his money."

"Opps. Ha-ha. I forgot to bring mine." Yamamoto informed while scratching the back of his head. He gave them a sheepish grin.

"HII! None of us have any money!" He panicked with his shoulders hunched up.

The Tenth's face was stricken with angst. Melaine had pickpocketed Hayato's money earlier in the day.

With her shoulders strait she made her way to them with a slight sway to her steps. The first one to notice her was dear Hayato whose eyes narrowed in one her with anger and then traveled lower with caution. When Hayato's gaze connected with elsewhere then Yamamoto's followed it and spotted her as well. The Tenth remained clueless until she was right next to him smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Hayato inquired roughly. Melaine smiled thinking of how easily she pocketed his money.

"I was to attend a movie, and you three?" She asked. Yamamoto's eyes burned in distrust, as she showed them all a bright smile. Manipulating them was all too easy for her skills and she knew it.

"Auhh, well we were going to see a movie…. But uh, we don't have any money…" Tenth looked abashed .

"I will pay for you guys." Melaine stated. Her voice didn't offer because it wasn't something she would let them deny or turn down.

The boys were relieved to have someone pay for them. Now they could see the movie and save a little cash, except Hayato. He had lost 5,000yen to Melaine. It was easy for their foreign looking classmate to slip the ticket cashiers the money and exchange it for the tickets. Then with the tickets together they went to the most action packed movie of the year without a question as to the 'coincidence' of her watching the same movie as them. The boys declined for any food even though Melaine suggested it, the three were completely unaware of how she had suddenly joined their little group.

Yamamoto made sure that he was between her and his precious friends, even when they were taking their seat he made sure to sit right next to her. The theater room was packed and the only place that had enough spaces for all of them was in the far back with five rows at the end—empty.

Melaine had gone first with the baseball freak quickly taking his seat next to her. The other two boys were finally getting to the top. Hayato stayed behind Tenth, who fell on the stairs going up. Melaine and Yamamoto didn't wait for but simply turned around and gave easy-going laughs. They were both assholes like that.

"You know, that's my armrest." She told him.

She always had to have at least one armrest and since she was at the very end against a wall…

"(Laugh) it doesn't really matter does it?"

Yamamoto liked armrests too.

"No, it does." she informed him.

In a fast manor she got up and slid over into the seat next to Hayato. Tenth had been about to sit down there but Melaine got in so fast he nearly sat on her.

"Wha-?" Tenth said confused and flustered for almost sitting on a girl.

With a victorious grin (she got one over on Yamamoto), the seat thief patted the only seat left besides for the inconvenient one all the way down my Yamamoto. A little lost as to what just happened he took the seat she gestured to. Tenth looked over and with what was an almost unnoticeable twitch of the nose gave a small smile full of awkwardness.

_FLASHBACK_

_Soft hair which was a light blonde swayed against the back of a young girl as she walked through town on summer day. __She looked no older than 11 and her curves had yet to develop at in any way, but she was so vulnerable appearing that who would not be inclined to oblige such a sweet little girl. Why many have fallen for her soft round face. There were few who did not, such as the fine young man she had been walking with that day._

_He truly was what most would consider a pleasant man, one of ideals, change, and resolution. While the nineteenth century may have been arriving to the end, this man with blonde hair that seemed to her soft like a pillow was just beginning. _

_He had been strolling alongside her with a playful discussion that both were determined to win. It was a curious sight, for a man of eighteen to converse with a girl ten years his junior. They had become acquainted when he, Giotto had come upon a horrendous fight in at a bakery. He had urged the child to leave but had been responded to with perfect indifference and preceded to get her bread without pay. After stopping the fight and pacifying the bakery he paid for the stolen bread and then left. He was very much unaware of her waiting outside the shop for him._

"_How righteous of you to help poor Antonio." _

_He looked to her surprised, she held such elegance and authority it was hard to think her a child. _

"_It was wrong to have taken that bread."_

"_How so?"_

"_It was Antonio's and you neither asked nor paid."_

"_I neither asked nor pay to breathe but I a lot of that as of late."_

"_That is an entirely different matter; breath does not belong to anyone. Where are your parents?"_

"_If breath does not belong to one then why does wheat, they are both natures gift."_

"_Feel free to have wheat and make your own bread, but until then to not take the fruit of others hard work."_

_She played him on into a conversation in which he advocated that one should do what is right why she claimed that right and wrong was inexistent. How he started to debate such a thing with a child of her age he did not fully understand, but none the less was determined to show her there is right._

"_Murder is wrong, correct?" She spoke looking straight ahead while strolling next to the man who was much taller than she. _

_They stepped next to each other and in proper manor gave each other glances to emphasize the importance of certain word and questions. Neither got more than a step ahead of the other and looked as if they considered each other equals despite the fact both thought each other a child._

"_In most situations I believe so."_

"_What if a man was mistaken in thinking that a man had violated his only daughter of twelve and killed him—would it be wrong?"_

"_That is a tragedy and I may only ask why the father killed him."_

"_(Laugh) for his daughter."_

"_Not an answer. Did he do such a thing because he wanted revenge or to protect his daughter?"_

"_Both."_

"_Then it is a tragedy."_

_They turned a corner of the street and entered a small park. The birds flew from their branches upon hearing a pretators footsteps._

'_Not an answer." She copied with his exact tone._

"_Yes it is, for the man did the wrong thing for bad reasons he thought right. When mixing the two is shall always be a tragedy."_

"_Then the desire to kill somebody, what would you classify that?"_

"_I would say it is good." He told her as they turned around a corner on the wide dirt path._

"_Explain you reasoning."_

"_The desire to kill is based off an emotion, emotions are not bad but how you use and treat your desires is what makes up good and bad."_

"_Intentions are good then?"_

"_Yes, despite what they are I would think them good, but it is 'how' one uses them with determines good and bad."_

"_I shall agree that how is always the better question then why. Stealing, lying, adultery, murder, and disrespect are not bad then." She questioned while squinting when the sun penetrated her eyes. Despite her dislike of the golden rays it made her glow in the clean white dress._

"_For the right reason I say yes. Justice is indeed a brutal thing, but I hope I may never come to it."_

"_(LAUGH) Then I am right in assuming that instead of delivering justice to the wrong, you intend to protect the good from injustice?"_

_He nodded his head with his eyes serious and resolute. Melaine laughed. Giotto watched her as she laughed deeply. The way she did laugh was in a way that it threatened to break all constraint, that it was on the verge of being wild but it was not quite that yet. Free and almost wild, although it was looked down upon as un-manored with the way she bodly tumbled out of her mouth._

"_Wait Giotto, one day you will not have good reasoning and your desire will lead the way. It may last for only a moment, it may not, but there shall be a time when you will not always do what you classify as good."_

"_I would not suppose otherwise, but that shall not mean I will not try."_

"_Tell me this though. Would you sacrifice one friend for the sake of your best-friend?"_

"_No."_

_Melaine let out a vile smile, "Then you are a liar."_

_Giotto with an unnoticeable twitch of the nose Giotto gave an awkward smile. This girl had set off his guard since the moment he had met her. But there was some fascinating quality about her he would admit._

"_Will you pay for the bread?" He inquired at last._

"_No."_

_FLASHACK_

Melaine sat her head against the cushion, her memory lasted that of a blink. She remembered how a few years later she heard of the famous Vongola group and their leader, Giotto was determined to protect the weak. Melaine knew there was no chance of it being any other man then the one she met on that day. She stuck by her opinion back then, Giotto was a good man who would always do the right thing but there must have been a time when he did wrong. Still, Melaine was nearly awed at his undying will to not harm evil, but protect good. Now it would be called 'defense instead of offense'.

The movie started rolling and projections were put on to the screen. It started off with a boy and then the next thing one knew the screen was filled with blood and explosions. It was a stereotypical action movie about a boy who wants revenge for whatever reason. Melaine closed her eyes and simply listened to the sound affect which annoyed her, maybe the next on her list of destruction should be movie theaters.

No, that sounds boring.

Half way through the movie Hayato and Tenth were totally engrossed so Melaine thought it was time to make her move. Slowly she slid to the very back of her chair. She faked a yawn and then slyly stretched her left arm over Hayato's chair—he didn't notice. Gradually her arm got closer and closer to his shoulders until finally they rested on them. Hayato noticed then.

"Get off me." He growled and sharply shrugged her off with a jerk of his shoulders. Melaine tolerated it and breathed deeply. Then after waiting a few minutes Melaine did the same thing again only to the Tenth, She did not bother to be as careful this time around and freely wrapped her right arm around his slight shoulder.

"EK!" He whimpered when he noticed her.

He squirmed in her arm and she grinned broadly. The movie was fun after all. Tenth did not possess the guts to do or say anything like Hayato did, so instead of enjoying the move he simply suffered in her grasp, uncomfortable, blushing, and embarrassed. Eventually, Hayato did his ten minuet check-up on Tenth like he did every ten minutes. When he saw how Melaine was putting the moves on his Tenth he lit a fuse.

"Get off the Tenth!" He yelled.

Everyone in the theater turned around to look at the ruckus.

"What?" She asked innocently.

Tenth still squirmed in his seat and looked as if wanted to die!

Hayato got up and yanked Melaine's arm off of the Tenth, then pointed strait at her and said "Bad! Don't touch him!"

His mischievous classmate wanted to bust out laughing, but instead gave herself wide eyes and held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry man, it will not happen again. I swear to God."

Tenth wanted to sat thanks for Hayato saving him, but it came out as an unheard utter. Hayato plopped back down in his seat and they all began to watch the movie again.

That is until some guy in a movie uniform came. He shinned his flash light on Tenth, Melaine, and Hayato. He was a bit scared of how threatening Hayato looked.

"Umm excuse me…. You guys are creating a disturbance. I'm going to have to ask you three to leave." He told them.

Melaine immediately thought his striped vest was tacky and so was the paper hat.

"What!" Tenth and Hayato shouted together.  
>Tenth in surprise and his right hand man in outrage.<p>

Tenth sulkily got up and started to leave so Hayato chased after him before he got his chance to shout at the employee for doing his job. The young scrawny man then turned his flashlight to shine directly in Melaine's eyes. He actually expected her to leave too.

"Look at me!" She said in a hush tone.

He stared at her stomach and looked a bit unsure of what to do.

'Well… okay then. No more noise." He told her and Melaine nodded her head in agreement. The man left and few people in the crown watched as he did so. She turned her head to the tall Japanese guy siting a close to her. He gave a smile, but didn't follow his friends. "Guess it is only you and me Yamamoto Takeshi."

He gave a quiet laugh, "I guess so!"


	11. unconvinced

Chapter 11 is one of my favorites! I wrote most of this on the day of my finals when I had a period off, it was such a cool experience. I was chilling in the library and then started writing, but it was like I got this burst of amazing inspiration and I refused to stop typing until that inspiration as totally drained. I thought what I wrote was pretty damn awesome and felt so arrogant. I always write my best during school though…

My appreciation to my beta **thealmightydee9009**, and my thanks to Serandi82 and Shenhui who will be betaing this story now too.

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

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><p>The day was already in procession as Melaine chewed on some gum. Gum is something Melaine has never been opposed to. After the first minuet of chewing a piece of gum most the flavors have disappeared, leaving behind a much duller taste of what it had been. This suited her perfectly since her taste buds were increased so much that most food had too strong a taste for her likening, but not gum. Gum had so little taste after a while that it was favorite for someone like Melaine who tasted too much.<p>

She was subtly chewing her gum on the roof of her house and pondering over why the arcobaleno presence had disappeared so suddenly.

She hoped he was dead.

It was of no concern to her, but her concern was raised when she felt Tenth, Hayato, and then the other guardians' presence disappeared as well. This made her feel very curious as to what was going on. There were many possibilities as to what may have happened: A rival mafian may have taken them all out or perhaps they all had a suicide pact; either way the unlicensed blonde detective was determined to get to the bottom of it.

And she knew just who to ask.

* * *

><p>"Hello Sawada-san" Melaine greeted politely. She wanted to make a decent impression though she knew it would be rather easy. The Tenth's mother looked up in surprise at the young girl, who remained on the other side of the fence. The Tenths mother still had that deluded happiness aura around her which Melaine liked, if she wasn't the Tenth's mother, Melaine wouldn't have minded drinking from that thin vein on her neck.<p>

"I'm Melaine, a friend of the Tenths—your son." She introduced herself and even gave a light bow of the head. Nana was pleased although a little shocked at seeing the girl. Melaine however, had very little interest in her thoughts and only wished to know where certain Vongola members were. Their disappearance aroused her curiosity. She worried over the well-being on most the guardians, and the facts that they have disappeared from existence for a short while unsettled her; that only happened to her a handful of times not including when a person died.

"Please come in for tea." Nana asked sweetly. Melaine accepted the offer with a warm smile. She was a genuinely good person, utterly weak, but a good person. It's easy to see how she is related to the Tenth. She could be of assistance for her, if it ever came that Melaine would need to buy time from the Vongola. No Vongolan would ever dare to harm or subject violence to the person who is the external advisors wife and the future boss' mother. It is better to not involve the Tenth's mother so easily though; such an action would lower Hayato's opinion of her.

The inquiring female then went to the gate's door and then followed Nana's retreating figure into the house.

It was her first time being in the Sawada residence, but she could smell the scent of the residences lingering on the furniture. There was a mixture of smells (some more pleasant than others) from all the different tenets in the dwelling. Still the home was a normal size, it is impressive that Nana had been able to comfortably fit seven people in here—not including Imetsu.

Melaine took her seat at the spot where the baby tends to sit, it was funny to her. Reborn, the strongest acrobaleno, most trusted hitman of the Vongola, was clueless to the fact she had been observing the guardians for over a month. And now she sat in his daily seat without so much as a worry. Yes, the situation seemed very humorous to her.

Nana turned around with the tea and set a cup in front of each of them. Nana smiled at Melaine and then in an innocent, curious tone asked something Melaine was not expecting.

"How many months are you?"

Melaine blinked at the question, slightly thrown off by it. She was positive that she had not misheard Nana, but she had thought the pregnancy was hid rather well. She had been able to fool everyone so far, and in reality she looked a little thick more than anything. She can't hide it forever though, so why try to lie about it any longer? Besides she could definitely get sympathy points with it.

"I'm about four and half months" she answered then asked. "How can you tell?"

Nana laughed joyously and touched her own cheek with an endearing look. "Oh sweetie! You're glowing." She answered looking at her merrily.

Most Japanese citizens do not react this well to teenage pregnancy, it was one of the reasons she chose to hide it. Life is much more comfortable when there are no dirty looks and snide comments; malicious gestures didn't hurt her feelings of course, but made it more difficult to lead a peaceful life.

"Truly? Your one of the very few people who has noticed." Melaine told her, and then took a sip of her tea. It was delightful and warm going down her throat.

Nana laughed kindly and made a waving gesture with her hand. "I'm not surprised Tsuna hasn't noticed, he can be so oblivious at times."

"That's not true! The Tenth is very intuitive; some might even say he has a hyper intuition."

"You think so well of my son? He has been looking more like his father lately hasn't he?"

"Hmm. Sorry I do not believe I have met the Tenth's father."

"Oh! That's right!" Nana realized. Then felt the need to tell about her beloved husband.

"His father is romantic, cool, charming, and so dependable. He is the most amazing man in the world, and a very good kisser! So what's your love like?" she asked. Melaine smiled at her. Nana automatically assumed that she had slept with someone she loved. It was very different then what most the people around her would think.

"His name is Josander, Aleksander. He can hardly be considered a man with how clingy he is and how childish he may act. The boy is provoked to jealousy so easily and over the tiniest of things. He possesses no ambition whatsoever, not to mention that he prefers to be alone although he hates to be lonely. He is not quite a rebel but refuses to believe that any type of authority can exist, which may control him. "

Melaine allowed herself to be embraced in the feeling she got when she thought of him. There was a subtle happiness about it, and Melaine didn't even care that she sounded like Nana as she praised him. The image of the caramel haired lover was still fresh in her mind. The lack of color in his skin, along with the dark blond hair which some may seem brown, his features had a perfection about them like her own, and the trait which disturbed her most were those eyes. Those deep eyes which brought out something in her she did not know existed. The color is a dark cherry wood. Whenever she looked deeply into them she could feel her soul pulse, what they did mocked her very existence. It nearly made her heart skip a beat.

Yes, even she was unwillingly a silly girl in love.

She went on lost in a sky filled with memories. Nana only smiled, liking this pregnant girl who could love someone so deeply that it looked like she was lost in the mere memory of him. She understood that what she had just said were not qualities that this girl scolded him for.

"He stole your heart!" Nana commented and sighed happily, giving the girl her whole attention. The older woman thought that they sounded like such a romantic love story. Melaine just smirked at her thinking about who stole who's heart.

"I gave it to him, and then so cruelly took it away. He really did love me." She whispered to Nana, eyes looking at something which no longer existed.

"Oh! What happened?" Nana said, thoroughly curious.

"I left him," she answered. Nana looked like she did not know whether to implore or not, so Melaine went on freely.

"My uncle died, and his death caused some complications" She told.

"Oh dear! You poor thing!" Nana said looking at the young girl with sympathy. To have been through so much, and while pregnant! She would not have empathized with the girl so much if she was aware of the complete truth. Melaine had been the one who murdered her uncle, not to mention that she had left him two months before her uncle's death in order to kill said man. But she was not aware of that fact, and it was for the better.

"It is nothing to be troubled about. These things happen and we must accept them with grace, but becoming friends with the Tenth, Gokudera, and Ryohei was helped improve my spirits greatly. I'm grateful for their friendship—speaking of which do you know where they are?" Melaine asked curiously, Nana gave her a thoughtful look, wanting to be of help as much as possible.

"All of the kids are in Tsuna's room" She replied positively. Melaine smiled a thank you, but progressed the conversation with Nana in an attempt to stall for time. There is no one in his room right now, and there was certainty no Vongola present in Namimori. That did not suit her at all.

The conversation went on and they talked about all of Nana's interest, she came to adore the girl in just a matter of minutes. The older woman was defenseless against Melaine's words and insincere expressions. Every lie was spoken with a compelling faith, speaking to the aged woman's unnoticed desires. Her forgotten dreams entangled into reality through false words of passionate emotions that were dwindling away. Giving life to the possibility of selfishness, the freedom of being miserable without the attachment of guilt. With every word the seductress told, the father she fell into the snare; baited with indulgent of youth, a gift that decayed over the years. The simple words were twisting into an alluring spider web of which Nana blindly walked into.

It was not something Melaine worked to do but an unconscious habit. She charmed naturally, without thought, like drumming you ringer nails or tapping your foot. Even if you notice what you're doing there is that choice to stop it, but unlike the majority she allowed it to manifest. It often came when she has little any interest in the conversation, but it would be troublesome if she went home or if she lurked in the Tenths room until he returned.

"Oh dear, I must get to the laundry." Nana told her regrettably. She didn't want the conversation to end.

"Let me help you." Melaine asked kindly. Might as well as she was waiting.

"Thank you!" Nana said brightly, grateful for the help. They proceeded out to the backyard and remained chatting about things Melaine found meaningless. Her attention was more focused on all the possibilities of where the Vongola may be. This was one of the most unsettling occurrences that have happened in lifetimes. Why Hayato?

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Nana asked sweetly. Melaine had no one else to cook for her.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that." She answered. Nana smiled, pleased and went into the kitchen as to get started.

"Oh no. We're all out of ketchup!" Nana called from the kitchen, this was good considering Melaine had gotten bored of doing someone else's laundry.

"I'll go out and get some more." Melaine offered already setting down the clothes.

"I couldn't bother you to do something like that!"

"No bother at all, really. It will only take me a few minutes."

But the walk to the store is much longer than that!"

"I'm a speed walker," Melaine assured her, now walking out of the door. She heard Nana call out a thank you, and she waved without looking back. Then proceeded to walk toward the first empty house she saw, which happened to be Nana's neighbors. Melaine grabbed the handle and forced the door to open by breaking it, no one noticed the noise. The people that lived in the house weren't prepared for burglars in the least. She walked toward the area that contained a smell of food, and looked through the pantry until she finally found the ketchup. Grabbing it, she left the way she came—with no one seeing her.

Just a moment before she had grabbed the doorknob to the Sawada residence Melaine felt the flash of disturbance. It was like a static shock, it even contained a similar type of pain, but this was missing the element of electricity; her nerve cells had been struck with a flare of warning. "Your instinct sense an unnatural phenomenon which the brain reacts to by sending small pules to your nerve cells, in order to make you consciously aware of the occurrence. It gives you a physical shock in place of your lost fear." That was what Amaya had had concluded to, and she was always well informed about those things. Melaine had an idea of what might be causing this reaction.

Then just as she guessed, there was a strange natural occurrence: a small earthquake. It was a little thing; Melaine was not at all affected by it. But in a useable flash of lighting, Tenth, I-pin, the Veal, and mighty sun acrobaleno appeared in the living room. She had not seen them, but the sudden appearance of a presence—much less four—was hard to miss. Not to mention she could vaguely feel the other guardians pop up around the town.

Melaine felt immensely exited, Hayato's and his comrades' strength had beyond improved. They were all strong now; she could feel it even though the power was compressed inside them. A sudden impact such as this overexcited her, tempted her with terrible things, and she would gladly give into it. However, she was not so dumb as to follow through with those ideas. She could have much more fun with them down the road if she did not screw things up now.

"Mo..Mom…!" Tenth called. He sounded over joyed; the situation must have been ruff.

"Mamma!" screamed the two kids. She heard them jump into Nana's arms, who immediately mothered them. Melaine heard the acrobaleno make a snide remark to the Tenth, who denied wanting to be the one to jump into his mother's arms.

"Oh that's right! Tsuna-kun can you check you room to see if anything's fallen from the earthquake just now?" asked the Tenths mother.

"Eh? There was an earthquake…?" Tenth questioned, more to himself.

"We have a guest for dinner tonight. She should be back soon" Nana told him. Melaine took that as her cue to walk in the front door and call "I'm back"

Every pair of eyes turned to her most in a type of surprise, one in suspicion and fury. 'Looks like Reborn finally knows." Melaine thought cheerful.

"That was fast!" Nana commented.

"I'm a good speed walker." Melaine said. From the corner of her eye, she saw Leon start to change in to a gun, so she got closer to innocent Nana. She wanted to push him and get away with it too.

"What are you doing here?" Reborn demanded to know, his voice threating. Tenth flinched from his tone and was scared of the dangerous vibe Reborn gave off. 'How could he be so threatened by a young girl?' Melaine laughed at his thoughts.

"I'm eating dinner here." She answered with a cute smile. She saw how Reborn became more pissed off as each moment passed. Nana was oblivious to the situation and asked for Melaine's help in the kitchen, as to which she politely obliged. She waved at the Tenth as she passed out of the room with his mother.

* * *

><p>There was a heavy tension at the dinner table that went unnoticed by everyone but Reborn and the Tenth. Melaine's only worry was that she did not like Nana's cooking, but she ate it with a flake smile like any other polite guest. Nana was always involving her in the conversation, but it didn't mean much to Melaine. She was savoring the taste of the self-satisfaction of being strong and Reborn being weak. That was what it meant to her as she toyed with him during dinner.<p>

After a while the Tenth asked "S-so, how did you, uh…"

"Get pregnant?" Melaine finished for him cheerfully.

"Oh you know, same way as everyone else. Amazing unprotected sex." She told him in the same bright voice.

The Tenth fell back with a blush from the bluntness of her words, and even Nana choked on her food a bit.

"What's sex?" Lambo asked.

"It's a game." Melaine told him smiling, her head slightly turned in his direction.

"I wanna play!" Lambo shouted dumbly.

"Ahh! Lambo don't say that! Stop telling him these things!" The Tenth shouted in panic. His face was beat red, and he looked ready to have a serious nose bleed. Melaine laughed whole heartedly and dazzled them with a smile.

"Aww… too bad Tenth. I was going to ask you to join me and Hayato in the game, but I take it you're not interested, huh." She said lightly.

"Ahh!" came from the Tenth, blood spraying out of his nose. He fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Nana herself was blushing heavily, and like a good mother bent down to see if her son was okay.

The moment she did though [BAM]

A loud shot rang out through the house— one that was meant to kill. Melaine had shifted her body only slightly and evaded the shot. It had whizzed by her face so fast that no one saw but the target and the hitman.

"What was that?" asked Nana, forgetting her fallen son.

"Maybe it was a gunshot?" Melaine suggested lightly. Of course the mother started to worry.

"Don't worry mam'am, its safe here with us." Chimed Reborn, who had not taken his eyes off of Melaine the whole time. He knew that before him was a being that spread danger all around her- she had involved innocent people in her game too. Damn, he should have noticed that she was here sooner. How could he not have noticed? It didn't matter now, the important thing is to keep everyone safe from her. If that was even possible…

The shadow still covered Reborn eyes and death radiated off of him. She almost had a hard time believing he had tried to kill her; does he really think that something like a bullet would be her end? Such a thing could not even be called attempted murder. This should have only been expected from a baby though.

"(giggle) No one is really safe, are they? Why you could get in an accident just by walking down the street."

"Not while I'm around" Reborn threatened.

"Well, thank goodness for that then."

Reborn's tension and anger went unnoticed by everyone now, especially considering the Tenth was passed out. Melaine managed to eat all of her food and continuously talked to everyone (besides Reborn) throughout the night. She even spoke to the Tenth, when he finally awakened from his fallen state. There was laughter and cheer filling the room, and Melaine was at the center of it. Finally when dinner ended, darkness had colored the sky along with the cold temperature it brought. Melaine felt her heart thudded for a moment and gave a secretive twist of her lips. She felt it in her blood: no hesitation at all, health felt better than ever, sanity was intact—Karin was here.

"What are you smirking about?" The baby demanded to know.

"I'm just happy to be here." She told him, and then turned to Nana. "It's rather late; I think that I should be going."

"Oh dear! Your right, Tsuna why don't you walk her home?" Nana asked.

"Why do I have to?" Tenth complained. Nana frowned at him. Seeing her displeased expression he got up ready to take Mel home.

"No." Reborn ordered, and most people stopped to look at him in surprise. He went on "I'll walk her home mam'am"

"If it's that much of a bother for Tenth, then I can just stay here for the night. Right Nana?" Melaine asked sweetly. Her soft features and kind voice had won Nana over, she was about to immediately agree when Reborn butted in again.

"Fine, hurry and return. If anything happens, then I won't be understanding." Reborn warned.

Melaine couldn't help it, she smiled. It was wild with happiness. Her bright eyes challenged him with danger. Reborn felt immediate regret at his decision; he should have insisted to walk her home.

"Don't tempt me."

* * *

><p>Melaine allowed the atmosphere to be awkward, and the Tenth didn't know what to think of what Reborn said about her being dangerous— the young girl that had been laughing and smiling with them only a moment before. Still he had felt something about her earlier, not quite fear, but wariness of her, and for some reason pity. When he looked at her seriously something made him feel bad for her. Even though she was with everyone else, at the same time it was like she was never really with them, never in the same moment with them. She looked like she was far away—by herself.<p>

"I'm hungry." Melaine told him, shattering his previous thoughts.

"What? You just ate." Tenth exclaimed in disbelief. "You ate the most!"

"I need real food. Meat and water isn't enough to satisfy me." She told him. He didn't get it, but about to say something when her knee's faltered and she fell down on the street barely catching herself or so it appeared to Tenth.

"Are you okay?" Tenth asked panicked bending down, and invading her personal space. His face was so close to her face, his neck no more than a few inches away. The skin unscarred, vulnerable, and open.

Like so many other before him, she slipped her arms around his neck, leaving room for her lips.

She held him in a tight embrace, one he was too embarrassed to get out of.

Her face lowered toward him.

"You've grown so much. Such a strong and sweet scent." She whispered against his neck.

Her soft lips barely kissed his neck before there was a sword at her throat.

"I think you should go home now."

Yamamoto had said this in a casual tone; he even gave an easy going laugh though she could tell he was tense.

Melaine released her grip on Tenth who was utterly confused. But she did not completely let him go, her arms still had a hold on Tenths left arm and a sly smile still had a hold on her face.

"And I think you shouldn't threaten a lady." A calm voice came from behind Yamamoto.

A shiny black sword was now held to Yamamoto's own throat. The sword was longer than Yamamoto's and it looked as if it had four flat balanced faces for the black blade and an old Japanese hilt which was darker than the pure black blade. It was not nearly as dangerous as the person who wields it though.

Raven black hair that fell over her broad shoulders a little and equally black eyes that didn't miss a thing. They always had a sense of deepness to them, like an abyss. Her dark skin was tanned from always being outdoors, and her body was well toned though there was no muscled bulking out. Her face had well balanced features and cheeks which always looked flushed. Her lips were naturally colored with a sharp cupids bow. She was never beautiful, but her face held an interesting quality that made you want to look at it. She looked as if she was on the verge of becoming an adult, almost eighteen. Her body was covered in blue jeans and a black jacket that was form fitting, showing her curves. Melaine noticed this and figured it was for Ed.

"What? Yamamoto and someone else?" Tenth said in a high pitch voice. His back was to them, so he couldn't see the entire situation, but he could see that there was a sword held to Melaine's throat. Something Melaine eventually noticed as well and wacked it away from her, not at all afraid of the sharp edge.

"I'm sorry Tenth, but instead of going to my house we are actually going to Yamamoto's instead." She told him standing up and offering a hand. He took it and stood up, still utterly confused on what going on whom the older girl was. The raven haired girl had already put down her sword, and made it disappear out of sight.

"We are?" Yamamoto asked cluelessly.

"We are," Answered the new girl who was staring at Yamamoto with an analyzing look. Melaine skipped over to her, and smiled.

"So what do you think of him?' Melaine asked.

"He looks like his dad." She commented as a response. Melaine rolled her eyes and they continued walking toward the sushi shop. The boys stupidly followed them.

* * *

><p>Hey! How awesome was this chapter? Pretty great, right?<p> 


	12. Rushed

Wow. Thank you **thealmightdee9009** for with you editing skills for this chapter truly you have proven your skills. This chapter must have been a pain for you to do, but I'm so greatful! You are wonderful! Everyone, read **in hopes of catching you** because it is simply amazinng, along with it's author. It's a OC story, and I simply love it. I don't put a story as a favorite unless it's proved its self. Along with **theallmightydee9009**, I would also like to thank **Shenhui** and **Serandi82 **who are now betaing this story as well. I appreciate it you all!

**I do not own KHR- don't have the time to.**

* * *

><p>The sushi shop still had its light on, and Melaine could hear Yamamoto's father inside doing sushi man stuff. Stepping inside, Karin lifted up the curtain with her right hand and grinned at the old, wrinkled man inside.<p>

"You've gotten old Tsuyoshi." She commented.

He looked up at the voice and grinned widely. Dropping his butcher knife on the counter, it 'CLANGED' while the aged man nearly ran over to her in excitement. His face glowed with youth for a moment.

"Karin!" He said happily. "You barely look any older than when we last met!" He stated in surprise.

"What can I say, I have great anti-aging cream." Karin told him with an innocent smile.

The two young boys were completely surprised by the friendly interaction.

"Pops, you know her?" asked Yamamoto, who was now at ease from the lack of hostility but confused by the scene before him.

"Takeshi!" His dad exclaimed, not seeing him. "This is my old friend that's staying with us. I told you about her."

"A son too, things really do change in a course of two decades." Karin said, the grin never leaving her face.

\Yamamoto was bewildered at watching his dad cheerily talk to the girl that just held a sword to his neck, and so was his friend. Neither of them was quite sure as how to take this devolvement. They were the only ones though; everybody else seemed to be having a good time. Karin and Tsuyoshi were laughing together and drinking sake at one of the tables, while Melaine casually riffled through the Yamamoto's household.

What's going on?" Tenth asked, his voice high pitched.

Melaine frowned, she was still hungry.

"Don't worry about it Tenth, this isn't mafia related," Her answer shocked the young Vongola candidate, he had just been thinking that, this is definatly mafia (or Reborn related). "Tenth, I told you already, there is no need to worry. Everything is just a bit complicated and I would not want to explain it all."

"EHHH! You did it again!" Tsuna accused, with a panicked expression.

"Hahaha. Tsuna, of course she's going to answer your question." Yamamoto chimed in.

The sword wielding guardian was suspicious of the girl, after all she might be part Nikusu, but that didn't stop him from pointing out the obvious. Tsuna was always such a tense guy.

"Wait a minute! Why were you there Yamamoto?" Tenth asked.

Yamamoto grinned broadly, "The little guy asked me to go and make sure you came back safely."

Melaine smirked. Even though she put him in a no win situation, the baby still found a way not to lose.

"Hello, Yamamoto Takeshi." Karin greeted, finally remembering her manors. She gave him a nod of the head and resisted the impulse to shake his hand. She had not been in Japan for such a long time, but would be quick to reacquaint herself with their mannerism again.

"Hi" Yamamoto greeted back, he was already over what happened just a few minutes ago. The laid back fifteen year old smiled at her and it was exchanged. Karin flashed a pair of strait white teeth; he could tell she had braces before. Her dark eyes looked him over with an unknown emotion before turning back over toward his dad.

"So I hear you taught your boy shounen style, and I thought you retired from the way of the sword," She said with a raised eyebrow.

Her smile was still there, so it seemed like she might have been teasing him. That's the way Tsuyoshi took it at least.

"I have unlike you." he laughed good heartedly and started to poor them some more sake from a cabinet.

They both took their sips and started to reminisce about old times. It was like Yamamoto's dad forgot about the middle schoolers were here. 'They must be good friends, wonder why dad never mentioned her before a week ago?' he thought. Yamamoto let it go and moved on asking his stressed out bud when he was going home. Tenth jumped and realized the time before running out the door in a hurry. So now it was him and the thing called Melaine. He wondered what she was.

"What are you?" Yamamoto inquired casually. Though he guessed was that she's a Nikusu or at least part Nikusu.

"A simple girl trying to get by in life," She answered with a wistful stare. Yamamoto knew better than to trust it.

"Are you a Nikusu?" he questioned, somehow he knew that she would answer this one seriously.

"Yes," He was wrong.

"Really?"

"Yes kid," she started sarcasm laced in her words. "I am a monster that appears as a young woman and sucks all the flesh off of my victim's body, not to mention I can fly too,"

Yamamoto knew she was being sarcastic and felt a little relieved. He wasn't sure how to deal with an actual demon.

"Why are –" Yamamoto was cut off by the shattering of a window.

He tensed hearing the glass explode and so did his dad. 'What just happened?' he wondered confused but on guard. Instantaneously he looked to Melaine whose posture was relaxed and happy. Not a tense bone in her inhuman body, but when he looked closer the boy saw something flicker in her eyes. It was only for a split second, but that look sent overwhelming fear through his entire body.

For that split second his subconscious told him he might die. 'Shit.'

It was over in less than a second, but he knew that there had been something in her gaze which his gut told him to be afraid of. He turned toward his dad and mentally questioned why they were hanging out with such troublesome people. Without a doubt it's best to keep pretty girls away from his friends.

"Well, I think that's a sign." Karin said breaking out a closed smile. You know what that one guy said; a smile is the best way out a bad situation. Not to mention she was pretty happy to see her old friend again.

"A window breaks and you're never going to get married? Ridiculous!" He exclaimed.

Karin chuckled at a personal joke while helping Tsuyoshi pick up the shattered glass.

"Sorry, marriage equals giving yourself to someone, I can't do that.' She answered waving the idea way.

They went on about the discussion a little more before switching topics. After a while, Melaine just left (with a souvenir), and Yamamoto went to bed— leaving his dad downstairs with a woman and sake.

* * *

><p>The next morning Melaine woke up with the same calm and groggy feelings she usually did when waking. She admitted to having a fairly strange night, and it took quite a bit for her to consider something strange. Emotions got the better of her last night, just by a little, when they erupted in the sushi place. When she had heard the sushi man talk about Karin getting married her temper caused a broken window. All the energy she usually kept sealed inside her shot out and pinpointed to the reason of her anger.<p>

Luckily, the sushi man had the good luck of throwing his head back. Because of that movement the energy missed him and hit the window. She had managed to get a hold of herself before breaking anything or anyone else. Melaine did not care for the idea of Karin getting married. It did not make her mad or happy. She may have suggested the idea herself in order to strengthen an alliance of some sorts. However, if the candidate is Ed (as Tsuyoshi had suggested) then that is not something in which she can allow.

Karin belongs solely to Melaine; she swore it. Swore to choose Melaine before anything and everyone else. It was irrelevant that Karin much preferred Ed to any other person she had ever met. Still, marriage is a promise of itself. And who would Karin rather keep a promise to, Ed or Melaine?

It is inconceivable that Karin could truly put anyone before her; Melaine literally could not find that in her logic. To her the idea didn't exist, but the sushi man gave her a split second of doubt. And that was unacceptable. '_When are you getting married to him?'_ Those words momentarily cracked her sanity with a gossamer touch. As if he should expect Karin to be able and devote herself to anyone else but Melaine. She had nearly killed him for saying such a ridiculous thing.

The sushi man was just a simple human who thought in the perimeters of human intellect, he would never comprehend the way someone like Melaine thinks. Melaine thought that the sushi man should stick to what he knows: sushi.

Melaine sat up and leaned against her head board while contemplating what the arrival of Karin meant for her. Karin had stopped meddling in her affairs long ago, the girl had long ago figured out Melaine could not save her. Karin had tried restlessly to revive Melaine's conscious, but learned that there was no hope of that—Melaine's will was too strong.

The girl only does what is necessary, so Karin would prevent her from doing any serious harm to the famous Vongola, yet that did not guarantee the Vongola's complete safety. The raven haired female doesn't enjoy intervening, but she also doesn't enjoy watching harm fall upon people she could save. So in other words Karin plays referee. 'It fits her' Melaine thought, 'She has always been a bit judgmental—especially of me.'

Moving out of her thick, white comforters and onto the beige carpet, she zombie walked into the kitchen. Opening her average refrigerator she was greeted by the vision of it being completely stalked with food. Karin's doing. There was also a tiny bottle of black pills in a bottle. Melaine shoved them into the front pocket of her skirt. She had gone to bed wearing her outfit from yesterday and didn't feel like taking the effort to change clothes.

Melaine grabbed the big pomegranate from a fruit bowl and quickly transferred its energy into her by the process of eating. Then she walked out the door she headed to the Take sushi. Her face held a particularly neutral expression, on that contained a delicate indifference to everything. She hid her insult very well.

Slapping away the curtains to the entrance of the Take sushi, she immediately saw Karin finishing her talk with the sushi man. Melaine then stepped outside and patiently waited for Karin to follow. The dark skinned girl came out only a minute later. They knew better than to cause distasteful ruckus in someone else's home—it was rude even to Melaine.

Melaine grasped the tiny bottles of pills in her hand and slid them out of her pocket. Her eyes were bright with untamable anger.

"You intended to feed me these?" Melaine questioned sharply. It was not that she didn't know the answer but rather she would give Karin a moment to defend herself.

"It was my intention," the raven—haired girl answered lightly.

"It was your intention," Melaine whispered anger having a strong hold on her words. Her expression twisted into that of cold furry before flinging the bottle at Karin faster than any baseball players ever pitched. Karin refused to dodge and the bottle hit her in the arm with enough force to break skin. The small black pills scattered everywhere, none of them bigger than a pea. Small amounts of blood started to stream from Karin's upper arm, they sprinkled on the ground below her.

"You wanted me to consume S.A.B., you are most certainly delusional." Melaine raised her voice when talking now.

S.A.B stands for sustaining artificial blood, in other words just mineral when taken or added with water can be used a source of blood. It had been founded a few decades ago, perhaps around the middle of the twentieth century. Melaine scorned it and found no respect for those who took it.

Karin dared to impose that she barely satisfies herself on such a thing? She would drink blood fresh and from is source anyone who dared to suggest otherwise would be denying who she was. Melaine is an always has been a vampire, she shall never be anything else.

"You insufferable little *del glouton souduiant…' Melaine whispered with a hushed voice. Their gazes were infallbily connected while those soft lips spit those harsh words.

"It has become illegal to drink the blood of a non-willing participant; you should at least pretend to adjust to the Council's new manor of thinking." Karin advised.

"Manor of thinking? They pretend to do this because at this moment everyone is either about being a good person or a bad one, all of them are imperils. Society, such a word is to be laughed at. Is it not something that only applies to mankind? If anyone had their wits on them they would simply let anarchy rein. Of course those who are dependent on others would be squashed in the mayhem but it would sort out to the most basic and only law of nature." Melaine ranted. Karin kept an emotionless face, but on the inside could barely contain her laughter. The only reason Melaine as this worked up was due to an erratic increase of hormones. Melaine didn't even know.

The whole reason Karin had put the bottle of S.A.B in Melaine's refrigerator was to see her lose face. There wouldn't have very many chances to see Melaine flip like this ever again. Karin was not so dumb as to expect that Melaine would take those pills. In the end it was all a good joke—to her.

She was pretty tempted to ask what that law was just to get another reaction out of her but alas Melaine caught on. It's a good thing that Melaine can take a joke—sort of. Melaine let out bubbles of laughter as she stumbled toward Karin.

Yamamoto was looking out the newly fixed window at the two girls. They were a good ten feet away from the window at least, but Karin still went flying through and shattering it.

"WHOA!" Yamamoto yelled in a surprised manor. 'That was a four by four foot window!' he thought staring at the black haired maiden who lied on the glass covered floor. She had plenty of small cuts all over her body and face, blood dripped from them like a leaking water balloon. After a moment of watching her bleed on the floor their Yamamoto got the bright idea to see if she was alright, but the elder girl was already starting to stand up as if she had simply tripped. Karin saw Yamamoto and saluted while getting to her feet. Then out the broken window, watched as she saw the retreating figure of Melaine's back. She hadn't taken the joke very well.

Melaine was determined to have some go through the glass window, and the closest people in the area were Karin and the young Yamamoto. Karin would have felt bad if Yamamoto suffered for Melaine's response to her joke. He was the child of a friend after all. And she could take going through a wall of glass a lot better than a fifteen year old kid could.

Yamamoto was thinking on a way different track. He was more impressed than anything; Karin was so flexible she had been able to bend her body enough that she went through butt first. He looked her over and saw the cuts on her thighs from where the jeans were ripped and the majority of the leaking blood was on her arms and back.

"Are you okay?" Yamamoto asked worriedly. Karin looked him straight in the eye; she had no more than three shallow cuts.

"Yeah it's just some cuts, I'm going to clean off in the bathroom," She told before heading toward said place. Yamamoto was absolutely bemused by the stranger his father let live in their house. He didn't know quite what to think of her.

* * *

><p>[NEWS REPORT]<p>

"_Due to the vandalism at Namimori-middle school, the dean has asked that no student attend school for a period of two days. The reason for this is assumed that he wants time for the staff to fix the vandalism, but some reporters have speculated that this small break also has something to do with the Disciplinary Committee, who has been reported searching for the culprit since the crime had been discovered. The police have yet to find the culprit responsible but are currently looking into those with names of Mochida and Karin. It was discovered that there is a Mochida who attends Namimori middle as a third year. This student had disappeared though after this information was revealed. The cops are baffled as to where this boy went and suspect foul play when officers discovered blood in the reception room yesterday afternoon. It has been the confirmed that the DNA matches the missing fifteen year old. The police offer a reward for anyone who can help them in either of these cases_."

The vampire looked at the screen with a raised eyebrow and emptied more cereal into her mouth.

Melaine sat on a high stool in her kitchen with a half filled bowl of cereal in front of her. The middle school student ate at the island just as she always did. The glass table was more or less there for decoration although it clashed a bit with the white room.

After she finished the human meal, Melaine still felt her hunger growl. Her body told her what it desired by having two sharp point slides further out of her gums. They were only out a little bit (they didn't even pass her front teeth) but it was enough for her body to point out she had gone too long without eating. Her teeth are as effective as someone's stomach growling.

Melaine had on dark blue jeans and a thin jean shirt. She looked very cute despite her 'condition'. The hungry blonde left the house and traveled into the busier part of Namimori. The street was flooded with people and shops. It wasn't quite crowded but it definitely wasn't deserted either. The colors from clothing, paper, and food gave the town life and the feel of business. Melaine walked for a bit gazing at scenery of people around her, but eventually her gums ached a bit telling demanding a refill from the liquid of life. Her feet which were keeping a steady pace on the hard concrete below turned sharply heading toward the Take Sushi shop.

When she first arrived, her intentions were only to visit Karin. Yes she was hungry, but Melaine desired information about Ed's arrival more than she craved to be fed. However, it was in the room there was only one customer and the sushi man. The situation was too convenient.

"Hello is Karin in?" Melaine asked politely. Tsuyoshi grinned at her name and looked as if he deemed Melaine a friend. He probably did considering she was the one that gave him a chance to reconnect to his old friend again.

"Yeah! She's upstairs." He told her with a smile very similar to his son's.

"Great, I need to talk to her about something."

"I'll get her for you," He said and then turned to his customer "Will you be alright in the meantime?"

The customer, a young boy in a cow suit looked at the slightly aged old man. "Lambo-san is alright!" he shouted and ate more sushi. He had a rotten grin on his face and snot was dripping out of his nose. He gave the sushi guy a thumbs up quickly but somehow fell off his stool in the process. What an idiot. Still she wanted every guardian in her marked collection.

_Lambo- san _

"Tolerate!" Lambo shouted on the verge of tears. He smashed his hand on the stool by accident and now it really hurt! Lambo- san is a big boy, he must tolerate! While gripping his poor hand, Lambo-san felt something cool touch his hand that was hurt. It was really hot now and it still hurt a bit, but the coolness took away some of the pain.

Sniffling, Lambo-san saw that the lady who played sex holding a damp towel to Lambo-san's hand. She made soothing sounds and Lambo-san took big breaths while calming down a little. She whipped his hand with the damp towel and even when the pain went away she kept rubbing a bit.

"Got to get all that grim off." She told Lambo-san smiling. Lambo-san looked up and noticed she didn't have any burgers in her nose. Even Mamma has burgers in her nose. He looked down an saw how clean his hand was thanks to the one girl with a big tummy.

"Lambo-san picks his burgers! Do you not have burgers cause you picked them all?" Lambo-san asked curiously. The girl shook her head, but was still grasping Lambo-san's wrist. She smiled and Lambo-san saw her eyes change color and she grew spikes from her mouth. She was a monster!

Lambo-san was about to cry for Tsuna, but the monster yanked his had to her mouth and he felt his hand get poked. Twice! Lambo-san saw a little bit of blood and started crying. "WHAHANANA! T-TTSUNNAAA!" He yelled even though his hand didn't hurt that badly. It hurt like a finger poke!

'She bite me!' he realized very upset. He didn't like to be bite or bitten.

The girl pulled her face back and looked mean! She pressed the towel on to Lambo-san's bleeding hand while muttering to herself. Lambo-san was still crying when he pulled out his bazooka and shot it.

_Lambo-san_

Once the veal turned to the calf, the sushi man ran in with Karin training behind him. Karin didn't look fazed at all, probably because she knew what happened, but the sushi man looked a little distressed.

"What happened to the kid?" he asked worriedly. Before the calf could say anything Melaine started speaking.

"After you left him with me I calmed him down, but then his brother came to get him and he started to cry again." Melaine explained. She started to give the sushi man a little more detail as how the Veal didn't want to leave, but he had to because the elder brother was upset since the Veal had snuck off to come here and wasn't supposed to be at Take Sushi anyways. The sushi man accepted her lies and then relaxed a bit before going back to making more sushi, the calf was then convinced by her to go to Nana's which he did.

"What is it that you needed?" Karin asked more for her friends benefit than anything. He knew that Karin had an uncanny ability to know things but had never really questioned it, so Karin preferred not to make it obvious when in front of him.

Melaine gave a dazzling smile "When _exactly_ will your lover be joining us?"

She flaunted the fact that she was aware of them were together and had been having sex; she had smelt it on Ed when he was over at her house. He had taken a shower so it was barely there, but the scent clung to his skin and there was enough for Melaine to notice it.

"I think he may be arriving tomorrow." Karin answered not at all effected by Melaine. It really didn't matter to her if Melaine knew; she hadn't been aiming for it to be secret.

"Where shall he be lodging?"

"At your place expectedly." This answer was not something Melaine was surprised by, but she had not been completely expecting it. No one ever stayed with her for some reason. Still, there wasn't much room at Take-Sushi and Ed wouldn't like to impose on a stranger; he would much rather impose on a friend.

"Lovely." Melaine said and then hearing the footsteps of Yamamoto coming down the stairs a thought came to her. "Have you sparred against Yamamoto yet?" she inquired.

Yamamoto who just arrived downstairs looked at her with wary; he was obviously going over what she just said in his head. The sushi man had put his attention on her as well, his face mirrored his son, and Karin just yawned.

"Nope, wasn't planning on it either." Karin told her and then moved to get some food from the sushi man. He handed her some while in deep thought.

"Why not? You both practice sword man ship, and he would learn what it is to go up against such an overwhelming force." Melaine said. Yamamoto took her words as a threat of him going up against her, but Melaine had really meant them only with the intention of being a jerk. Karin could see that, but the sushi man took her serious, as if she was trying to help his son.

"Ha, there's no need. Besides its best not to use weapons to play around with." The sushi man said. Melaine really wanted to see Karin wipe the floor with the young Yamamoto.

"A little sparring would be good for them, and it would be such a sight to see…" Melaine spoke. She could see in his eyes that he was thinking back to whenever he saw Karin fight, and how extraordinary she was at it. His blood burned to see such great fighting style again; his swordsman blood called for it. But no, he wouldn't put his son in that position.

"I have to go to school anyways." Yamamoto said before anyone could give a reply. He had his school uniform on and his backpack was swung over his shoulder.

"There's no school today. Some lunatic defiled the school and for the student's safety school will be out for a few days," Karin explained to him while eating sushi for breakfast. Yamamoto looked very surprised at this and his eyes turned to Melaine who was going through the Yamamoto's things again.

"Then I'm gonna go get changed. I'll go practice at the batting cages for today."

"Wow Yamamoto, you practice a lot. But I wasn't aware any were open today."

Yamamoto gave a victorious grin "There are quite a few of them in town. One of them is always open."

Melaine gave him a soft smile then gave her farewell to the swordsmen. She twirled around to face the exit and then left with the subtle grace she often carried. Her leave was quiet and they didn't expect what she was planning. It was all Yamamoto Takeshi's fault—he should have just done as she suggested.

Every baseball shop or batting cage in Namimori was burned down before the night fell; all except the one Yamamoto was currently at. She waited until he left to set fire for that particular one.

The next morning Melaine went back to the Take sushi with the intention of seeing Yamamoto lose to Karin. She entered the establishment and sat down on the stool in front of Tsuyoshi. She gave him a smirk with her slightly pale lips. She really would have to actually eat soon.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Good morning, what can I get for you?"

"I'm just here to wait for Ed, I suspect he would come here first." She explained while looking him in the eyes.

"Really?" The sushi man asked curiously.

"Indeed," Melaine answered listening for Yamamoto's footsteps on wooden stairs.

They carried on a small conversation for a while until Yamamoto rushed down the stairs looking a little distressed like his father did the other night. "Pop! Did you hear that all the batting cages in Namimori were set on fire?"

Tsuyoshi looked equally shocked at the news. "First the McDonald, then your school, and now the batting cages! Let's hope they don't go for the sushi houses next."

"You have been getting a lot of broken windows lately," Melaine mentioned. The sushi man looked stunned at this revelation. Yamamoto looked worried as well.

"Maybe I should stay home to make sure nothing happens." Yamamoto said with a considerate face.

"No Takeshi, you must go experience your youth. Leave Daddy to take of the house. I maybe old but I'm not weak. I can still take down a few delinquents. And I have Karin here to help me!"

"What am I helping with?" asked the dark haired women herself. Her cool voice flew from the female, who looked as causal as ever.

"Protect the sushi shop." Melaine answered the question which was directed at Tsuyoshi. The sushi man explained the situation.

"Ahh…. so the lunatic strikes again." Karin stated not looking at Melaine. Their talk progressed further until they somehow were talking about what Yamamoto would do since the hitting cages were all burned down. He couldn't go to Namimori since Hibari was still on a rampage, so he said he would go hang out with Tsuna then.

"So, what is most important to you?" asked the obsidian-eyed girl.

"Ha-ha, Well baseball is right now,"

Karin gave an understanding nod, "Priorities."

Yamamoto laughed and nodded his head while scratching the back of his head.

"Too bad, if he prioritized training then he might stand a chance against you." Melaine stated with a cheery smile. The sushi man defused the gaining tension by offering to make Yamamoto and Karin special sushi. Melaine left letting them get back to their lives. She was still hungry and the Veal was far from good. What the hell did they feed that Veal?

Taking a deep breath Melaine walked to the hospital where there was bound to be some decent food.

Sneaking in and wandering around the hospital looking for a healthy young adult, Melaine kept her appearance lax. She tilted her head back and forth to an imaginary song and looked over possible prey. She went in and out of random rooms with no one stopping her. What are you going to say to a pregnant chick in the hospital?

In a particular room there was a young man crying. He had common black hair and Japanese features, but was wearing tacky sandals. Melaine walked closer to him and sat down on his right. They were both now sitting on an empty bed in a room that was disserted besides for them.

"What is wrong?" Melaine asked in a gentle tone.

The man simply sobbed in his response. She placed a hand on his shoulder then rubbed her it across his back. She glanced at his neck and saw how the bright blue veins contrasted against his blotchy red skin.

"It's going to be aright..." She soothed leaning a little bit closer.

His loud sobs kept coming. Melaine brought her hand higher up, so her arm was now around his shoulder. The pretty face got closer and then he was slowly embraced in a strangers hug. He needed comfort right now.

"Don't worry; everything is going to be fine…" She whispered bringing her right hand to cup over his mouth.

With her hand blocking his mouth, his yells were muffled. Melaine pushed herself over him and his back was laid on the bed with his arms trying to push her off. Her legs pinned his and it only took her one hand to grab his wrists and pull them just above his head. He was trapped. Slowly she came closer and sunk her teeth into the side of his neck. He kept trying to struggle but he was over powered.

Red liquid quickly streamed into her mouth.

His movements slowly lost their power.

Blood leaked from her lips.

Tears leaked form his eyes.

She drank him in.

He shook with desperate pleas.

She ripped his vein open more even more with her fangs.

His actions were now small jerks and the tears were stopping.

She refused to stop feeding.

His body stopped resisting and succumbed to slumber.

Less of it was coming, sliding along her tongue and down her throat.

His heart was barely beating.

She attempted to drain more toward her.

His body was empty of life.

Melaine pulled up.

"Opps"

She hand not meant to kill him. Things were slightly complicated with a dead body. Still, she felt so good now that she had fed. She filled her whole appetite and desire for the moment. Life felt good.

Melaine took out her phone and plopped down on the other side of the bed. The body with tacky sandals was right beside her, looking pale and dead. She called her doctor, Kana.

[RING]

"Hello, Kana speaking."

"Yo! There is a dead guy in some room, you cannot miss him—he has tacky shoes." Melaine told her and then hung up. She felt so refreshed from finally eating; it was just what she needed. Her body was now running on fresh blood and nutrients. If she had an HP bar, she would be on full right now.

Melaine got up and pulled the thin white curtains around the bed, so that the sight of the dead was not an obvious thing. Then she went to small bathroom in order to glance at her appearance.

Her blond hair curled slightly at the end, and her blue eyes with silver streaks were shining. A few drops of blood were splattered on her lips and one was running down her chin like tear drop. Melaine smiled at the how contrast the deep red was against her soft white flesh. Melaine could feel the blood course through her slowly nourishing her body. Her beauty had slightly faded a bit due to the fact she had not eaten in a while. But now her beauty was at its peak.

Melaine glowed in happiness as watched herself in the mirror. The blood laced smile was nothing less than spectacular.


	13. ashamed, but giggly

I am apologizing in advance for how ruff this chapter is. I was incredibly lazy today and wasted a few hours instead of editing like I should have. Thank **thealmightdee9009** for betaing. Again I apologize for this chapter and guarantee that it shall be edited over and over again for the next week. No events shall change but some wording and grammar might. I had good news for you but now I don't even feel like sharing it cause I know I was unambitious today. But for those of you who want to know (though I doubt any of you care) my birthday is this Friday, August twelfth. Ha, it probably my karma for not giving this chapter the appropriate time that my birthday will suck. Oh well, life of a teenager. It sucks. What's a girl to do?  
>Review please! Hey, actually I have to ask you something. How many guardians has Melaine bitten? I really don't want to go read and look it up myself. Lol, sorry. If someone could tell me, I'd appreciate. Thank you.<p>

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR

* * *

><p>Full of self-satisfaction and blood, a thirst-quenched vampire walked away from the hospital. Although the place was an easy feeding ground, it was rare for Melaine to go. She held a great dislike for hospitals and has only been going frequently because it was insisted by everyone around her. On most occasions though, Melaine stays away from such dreary places. So upon her departure she wasn't a place of cheer and nature: the park.<p>

It was such an ideal place at the moment with fresh air, the scent of plants, and the feel of cold winds. A chilly night outside is one of the more soothing things that Melaine had ever come upon. It is a moment she doesn't mind reliving over and over again. Surrounded by the crisp dark sky Melaine sighed and kept strolling through the wide park.

Upon arriving at the destination, Melaine's sharp blue eyes searched the park grounds from left to right. There was not a detail that escaped her as she took in the sight of grass firmly planted into the ground and trees were in the midst of becoming colorful with the season. Fall has just arrived and it brought the promise of chilly winds and decaying plants.

The benches placed upon the human made road were mostly empty. Gazing at the wooden seat, Melaine placed herself upon it and closed her eyes so that she could see nothing but black. The blonde headed female rested on her the brown bench with her eye lids covering the windows to her soul.

Melaine was in a light sleep, more conscious then unconscious. With her heightened sense it is rare to be in a deep slumber. On some level her consciousness recognizes everything round her but generally chooses to ignore distractions. She has lived long enough to easily deny their existence. Melaine only allowed her focus on anything to dwindle, and she became lost in a slightly deep level of sleep. However, once she smelt blood her focus snapped to back to reality pretty quickly.

The blood was coming from an intense fight going on about fifty feet away.

The fact two people were fighting and one had a machete was of a little relevance to Melaine. She was more focused on the blood. Melaine felt her hunger arouse, but curiosity triumphed over any other emotion she had. Taking in the scent, the pureblood could smell a hint of vampire blood mixed in with the human's. Sure that there was no vampire besides her in Namimori Melaine could immediately assume that one of them had fed upon her kind's blood.

She got closer and stood in the shadow of a large tree. Her eyes followed their movements as she attempted to pinpoint which had consumed unhuman blood. From the distance she was at, it was very difficult to define whose blood was whose. If she was within twenty feet or they were not so close together than she may have easily been able to tell, but that wasn't the case.

Melaine looked at the amount of red spilled and how strong the smell was before deciding it was the males blood. The female opponent was bleeding much worse and most of the blood was simply human. Melaine questioned if the man was crazy, after all it is a common side effect to drinking vampire blood—one that could not be undone.

There were yells, strong winds, and dirt flying everywhere; the small group was making quite a ruckus. Eventually, the female got a blow to the chest and the man seemed to collapse. Blood was now spilling out more than ever. One of the three audience member caught the girl as she fainted form exhaustion. Then all three rushed the adult female off and didn't' look back as they left the blood covered man. It was clear that everyone though he was dead, only Melaine could sense the faint heart beat.

Melaine sauntered over to the heavily bleed person, who was obviously not from Japanese descent. A shallow puddle of dark red blood started to grow under him and Melaine felt urged to eat. Instead she asked him a question despite the fact his eyes were closed.

"Do you want to live?"

"N-noo….."

She gave a small smile, "Perfect"

Blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she crouched over the fallen man. Using her delicate fingers, Melaine pulled out the machete which was stuck in the man's chest. Without hesitation she kicked off her left shoe and deeply cut herself between the great toe and the one next to it. Blood slithered into the man's chest wound and Melaine's blood mixed with his own. Her self-inflicted injury healed quickly enough— fifteen times the rate of a human.

The man was almost dead before Melaine acted. More time would have been preferable, but he was in great danger of being dead in the next five minutes.

Getting closer to him, Melaine brought his wrist close to her lips and then deeply punctured the veins. No blood was taken, her fangs only rested in him for a long moment. The piercing of his rest cased a thin leak of red to roll down his arm, it may have kept coming but Melaine pressed her own hand against the small wound to try and keep him from losing any more red body fluid. With the amount of blood lost the probability of the guy surviving was low. The man was already half dead, and the process of infecting kills the victim just as often as it works. It is not something that can be handled easily.

Her bite activated the blood to take control and contaminate the whole body. Her blood would only react to her bite though, no one else's. It would then try and turn the victim's DNA into the exact same as her's, but to completely change one's DNA is impossible. Since he started off human he would never completely be Melaine's kind. To be a complete vampire you must be born a vampire.

There is a reason why she called as a Pureblood.

She lied down next to the unconscious fellow and closed her eyes. The crimson puddle was soaking her back and hair, but she didn't mind in the least. It was tempting to drink from him with so much blood everywhere and him being in such close range, but she resisted. The only sign of the desire she had were her slightly red eyes which comes when the body thinks that it's about to or is eating (humans).

Melaine was on her left side staring at him as she listened to his weak heartbeat and shallow breathing. She watched the blood fill and drain out of his face as the change happened. His features began to balance themselves out while his heartbeat became just a little bit better. The red liquid spattered against his skin was now drying, and even the stab through his chest was changing. The bleeding was starting to cease due to the body's new reaction of absorbing blood.

The man was very lucky to be sleeping through the changing process. What was happening to him is a different level of growing pains, and for a few hours his whole body would be in agony. It wouldn't be a shock if the man woke up due to the pain— it left most screaming. Though since he managed to survive the current circumstances, he might have been able to handle the pain.

Melaine didn't touch or move him, the guy would wake up on his own in eventually, and she didn't particularly care if anything or one found him. She left for the house with her back side mostly covered in thick red stains. Melaine was lucky that no one saw her on the way home or Karin might have made a drive to the police station that night.

A small low laugh came from her colorful red lips as she considered what had just been done to the man. It had been a while since she was a 'master', maybe it would make things more interesting; at the least it would be easier to have a errand boy around the house. Well, that is **if** he lives.

She could not wait until Ed found out.

* * *

><p>Melaine lied in bed, her white sheets still perfectly white. When she had arrived home, the first thing she did was shower so the smell of blood would leave and she wouldn't be constantly hungry. It was a cold shower and oto rinse the blood out of hair. There wasn't much since most of it only got on her clothes. Afterwards she then placed the red stained clothes in the fireplace and burned them to ashes. It was quicker than going through the trouble of washing all the blood out.<p>

After ridding herself from the man's blood she had fallen asleep in her fluffy bed easily. But her fragile state of sleep was broken when there was a light rap on the closed door to her room. Her eyes remained closed as the wooden door creaked open.

"I have all of my belongings put away into one of the spare rooms." There was a pause in the deep voice, "Have you still not adjusted to a daylight schedule?"

"I can stay awake whenever I want, but as of late I really do not want to." Melaine grumbled with her eyes close. She slid one eye lid up so slyly that it was barely noticeable, but Ed could still see the cutting blue of her left eye. His own honey-brown eyes gazed at her kindly. He was not an early riser either.

Letting out a deep breath, Ed pulled the fluffy white comforter over Melaine's shoulder so that she wouldn't be cold. It was a bit hard to see her since the house was kept so dark. Melaine had never taken the blankets down from the windows, so the sun's light was never in. Melaine didn't need much light to see so the entire house was kept dark, Ed found this a little spooky at first so he turned on the houses lights.

Ed made some breakfast and then woke up the sleeping beauty. She got up and then headed down stairs after putting on clothes. In a nonchalant manor she declined the invitation to breakfast, claiming she was full.

Ed asked, "You _ate_?"

"And then some."

"Wait! What the hell does that imply?"

Melaine pretended not hear him and ran a brush through her hair. "I will be spending time with the Vongola today, so when a foreign man comes by tell him to wait here."

His brow furrowed, "Wait-! You mean THAT mafia gang? And who is this guy?"

"In all technicalities it is the future generation so they may not be considered the Vongola yet. The guy is an ex-mafian I broke out of prison." She put down the hair brush with a small smile.

At that exact moment Ed understood why Karin had been talking about McDonalds on the phone two weeks before.

"Burning down McDonalds, stalking mafia brats, and breaking into prison- While pregnant? What the hell!"

"Well what do you do on you days off?"

"Pretending to be dead, does not count as a days off. McDonalds! Really Mel!"

"600 yen Ed, 600 yen!" She yelled and then stomped out of the door.

She did so enjoy her mourning talks with Ed. They are always so insightful. But that is Ed for her— enjoyable and insightful.

* * *

><p>With a knock on the wooden door, Melaine patiently waited for the plain brown door to open. Quickly the entrance opened and revealed a woman in her early thirties with short brown hair. Nana's light brown eyes widen in surprise.<p>

"Oh my! You've gotten so pretty in your pregnancy! Please come in." She exclaimed and ushered her guest in.

Melaine has cast off the illusion. There wasn't a need for it anymore since Reborn knew the truth. Putting a soft and charming smile on her face and responded with a polite tone, "Thank you Nana. Actually I came to see Tenth, may I go up?"

"Oh, of course." Nana said a little disappointed; she had wanted to talk to the young girl one more.

"Thank you Nana~." Melaine sang before climbing up the light wooden stairs. The process wasn't as effortless as remembered, Melaine felt a little…winded? She found tenth's room by the wooden Tuna fish hung on his door which contained his name. There were loud noises of the video games, the whipping of a gun, and the different breathing of three people.

Creaking the door open the occupants of the room stared at her. Well, Tenth and the Veal were staring at her while Reborn gave became expressionless. Melaine received them all with a fake smile.

"I came to greet the Tenth." Melaine lied with a smile lighting up her face.

Tenth was looking around with a distressed expression. 'The situation turned dire at once!" he mentally commented. Melaine's eyes glanced to him with a lazy grin. Nobody understood why she was smiling.

"It's the monster!" The Veal squealed as he pointed at her.

"It's the Veal!" Melaine cried pointing at him. No one would question why he called her a monster if they were too distracted by her doing something even weirder.

Reborn kicked the Veal into a wall calling him an 'idiot cow' which made Tenth give another paniced expression. Looking around the room it was clear that the Tenth's wall had been plastered many times. With all the wreckage his room had no one would buy this house.

The pregnant visitor began to speak again. "Well, since you, Hayato, and me are so close I felt it was only right to say hello while I was passing by." Reborn kept silent and didn't rise to her taunt.

Tenth thanked her while scratching his head at the awkwardness of the situation. With a reassuring laugh, Melaine carried on the conversation a little more by mentioning Namimori middle school would be reopening soon. Eventually, Reborn had enough and wanted to make a few things clear.

"If you harm any of them it'll be considered as an attack against the Vongola."

The middle schooler laughed at his threat, thinking over how many of the Tenth's guardians she has marked with her teeth: three. "Understood!"

"Ch. You're just a child."

"That means so much coming from you." She commented eyeing him with a amusement. "You really should relax, or you might get a heart attack before you turn two."

Whether Reborn would retort or not didn't matter, because before Melaine had even finished speaking Nana opened the door. With a cheery smile the mom suggested that Melaine should stay for lunch. The blonde girl remembered her distate for Nana's cooking instantly.

"Sorry. I have an appointment to be at, I only came by to say hello." Thinking that if she stayed any longer than she would have to stay for lunch Melaine decided to leave. Immediately. Nana gave a slight frown but quickly brightened up and then walked Melaine out the door.

Reborn watched her leave and wondered if it was the best decision to not take action against this audacious person. She would only harm the guradians if she stayed.

_Flashback_

"_Ninth I don't trust them to keep their words." Reborn argued._

"_Neither do I, but for now all we can do is keep each other's secrets. It has been promised that in the course of a month she would be removed from Japan."_

"_Do you really think that no harm will come out of this?" the hitman asks._

"_I have sent Visconti to stay outside of Namimori in case there is a need for back up. If one of them does anything physically threating then I give you permission to do what you must."_

"_Understood."_

_Flashback_

Reborn really hated this girl although he only laid his eyes on her once before on a mission. He had just killed his target and was escaping out of the mansion when he crossed an extravagant, but young girl winding her way down the grand hallway. He rushed by her so fast that he assumed that the girl's eyes could barely even keep up, but when running by her he felt his feet come out from under him.

He had been tripped.

Skillfully he did a mid-air front flip as to land on his feet successfully, but once he got his balance, he looked to see the stranger pulling her foot in subtly. She had tripped him, what a fucking jerk. Normally he would have shot her, but he had to get out soon. The guards were already on their way and his exit window was only two hallways down.

That was his encounter with the female he later came to know as Melaine. She rarely dabbled in mafia business so she wasn't too known , but she played with high class enough that a majority of boss' are aware of who she is. There are too many scandals that label her of a person of danger, and bosses like to know who those people are.

Melaine on the other hand did not even remember Reborn from that time. She tripped a lot of people before. There is no way one is going to stand out before all the rest—even if the person is a baby.

* * *

><p>The rest of the autumn day was spent doing miscellaneous such as sleeping on a park bench, the same exact park that she had been at the other night. The thoughts whirling around in her head were mostly on the subject of the man she met last night. Elzar.<p>

She had kept her mind open to his weak, feeble presence that late after a few minutes got a little bit stronger and then stronger, and stronger, and stronger. She knew he had lied there for two hours after she left, before gaining enough strength to move. One he did, it was only to hide himself in the forest about ten meters away from him. As strong as he was, his body still was in a fragile state that would require hours of rest. The man simply moved himself in a way so that his body would not be discovered.

She felt that hours later when the sun was in full bloom, the man had started to walk. He simply wandered into a building and slept all day: never once attempting to visit her. He was sleeping off the miserable and shitty feeling he had from when he woke up in the park. And he didn't leave the building for at least six hours.

It was a really long nap.

When the flooded sky was just about drained of any sunny light, visitor come to greet the female with creamy white skin and fluffy blonde mane. The wooden bench creaked below her weight as she shifted her body. It was difficult to get comfortable but she managed.

The young man looked at her in confusion; he did not quite know what was going on. He sat down on the bench next to her and neither of them said anything, but he snuck a few peaks at her once in a while. Eventually, he spoke:

"Hey" he said.

"Hi," she greeted back.

"I feel like I've meet you somewhere." He told her without any concern whatsoever. He had a strange awareness of who she was. He couldn't help but notice her, even when they were several miles away. It was weird.

"Yeah, I saved your life."

"Really. Why?"

She answered, "I wanted a servant."

He threw his hands up in the air, "Are you serious? That fuckin sucks!" he laughed a little as he said this. "So what, am I supposed to vacuum your house now?"

"Do you want to?" she asks, not at all minding the idea of a maid. The man gave her an incredulous look.

"Hell no. What man wants to do chorus?"

"Well then what do want to do?" she inquired.

"What I was here to do originally."

"Brilliant idea. That got you lying in a pool of your blood, on the brink of death." Melaine told him with a harsh laugh. He should have spent more time looking out for himself instead of recklessly meeting the person who tried to kill him.

He stayed silent for a moment. "My life is of no concern to you, bye."

"Didn't you hear the servant part?"

"Yeah, did you hear the part that I don't care?" He said standing up from the bench and leaving. That chick is way too crazy to hang around.

"Do not leave Namimori."

He had a crooked smirk on his face "Wasn't planning on it. My wife's here."

"The one who tried to kill you?" she asked delicately. He turned back, wondering how the fuck she knew that. But it was too late— she was gone. All that was left was an empty bench in a deserted park at night.

'What the fuck?'


	14. good

This chapter is good. Trust me, I think it is one of my best one. And as much as I am tempted to go on and praise myself in front of you, I have crap to do. Such as read a book an right an essay on it in two days. I would like to thank my beta **theallmightydee9009** who has been a wonderful beta through all of this. please review and criticize.

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own KHR**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own** Eleazar**, that character belongs to ..  
>*<em>this disclaimer is for all the times I have ever used this chatacter and ever will.<em>

* * *

><p>The sun rose into the sky, lighting up Japan with its natural rays. Simultaneously, the sun gave the people of Namimori warmth and light. As the sun shone bright, more people began to wake up and greet it. All of the places and noises came alive again with dawn. Beautiful sunshine was sure to bring a beautiful day.<p>

Melaine, with every ounce of her being, wished that the bright and sunny circle would stay down longer.

She was just getting back to the house when the sun peaked through Japan's natural mountains. The pregnant middle schooler despised the rise of that thing more than she despised McDonalds. It was annoying as hell and irritated her eyes. The moon was much kinder to her, therefore it was less hated.

Entering the house she was greeted with the sight of Ed laying on the love seat. He was too big for it and his feet hung off the left arm. He had waited all night for her return and had tried to stay up as long as possible until then. Alas, the golden haired man fell prey to sleep and ended up in the curled position with drool coming from his mouth. Melaine could get one of her many blankets and cover him up just as he did to her the day before.

She walked away, wanting to catch a little shut eye.

When sleeping beauty finally woke up, she headed straight for the kitchen. Upon entering, Melaine was greeted with the sight of a woman. Her metallic colored hair was held up in a high bun which gave everyone a view of a small spot imprinted on her neck. Against her ivory skin, the hickey now stood out as a tiny bruise. Jezebel was cooking some food on the stove while Ed sat at the counter, trying to read the daily newspaper. He was having a very difficult time reading Kanji.

"Where were you last night?" Ed interrogated the moment he saw her. Jezebel kept quiet, but her hazel eyes were watching from the corners.

She lied, "I was watching Hayato play with the Tenth."

His face showed a response of utter confusion and uncertainty. Jezebel tried to clear up his ignorance of what Melaine was talking about. "She was following two members of the future Vongola family."

Ed was thinking this out logically and wished Melaine was a man badly right now so the he could guiltlessly punch her/him in the face for being a reckless asshole. But Ed was well trained to deal with a woman's crap— and unfortunately Melaine was a woman.

"What the hell Melaine! You're supposed to be incognito, and you're stalking some mafia brats."

"You know Ed; I'm starting to think you are jealous."

'Theodor' calmed himself down and remembered that Melaine is an idiotic, selfish, illogical jerk. He still couldn't help put try to put reason into a conversation with the unreasonable "Why would I be jealous of stupid brats— who don't even know science."

"Yeah Ed, you are completely jealous."

His left eye threatened to twitch and he put the newspaper down, let out a deep annoyed sigh, and proceeded to walk out the door. It was so hard to deal with Melaine's crap that he decided to stop while he was ahead. Ed kept walking until he found himself at the Take sushi wanting the sympathy of his girl, Karin. He got sex instead.

Ed left for Karin. The reality of how that sounded placed a scowl on Melaine's lips.

"The job with Brow Nie is a success, I will revisit him soon." Ancelin informed her employer. Her only response was that of a light nod, the blue eyes are somewhere else.

"Five days."

Hazel eyes downcast, there was an emotionless reply, "Understood."

Business was concluded, and there would not be another word about it until Jezebel was about to leave again. Business was always brief for them; it would not due to ever become casual about business—it's how you slip up. Anyone who works under Melaine is forbidden to slip up. Accidents are forbidden.

The forbidding of accidents is another hypocrisy that Melaine pretends does not apply to her.

….

She was knocked up, remember?

* * *

><p>Later, when Ed returned, the three residences of the house had a talk about the school reopening tomorrow. It was acknowledged that Melaine is most likely the culprit of its serious case of vandalism and tomorrow she would attend school as is had not committed the crime.<p>

All of them (Ed, Jezebel, Melaine), were chatting about their (and Karin's) future moves. Melaine's left side was laid down on the white kitchen counter while she gazed out the window. She wore pin stripped pajamas which were airy enough for her hot body. On the outside she looked comfortable, but on the inside it was a completely different story.

The alien heartbeat inside her was thundering much too loudly.

She could now feel the vibration and it was a starting to become stronger, as if it wanted to make itself known. Melaine had only noticed the new beating inside of her a few hours ago. At first it was over lapped by her own body's functioning, but eventually it became strong enough that it ranked second in the most noticeable things in her body. The first is always her own heart, but second was the rapid beating of someone else's. With her hearing she could faintly pick up that small, fluttering heartbeat by the vibrations, and soon it would grow strong enough that Melaine couldn't deny its presence. Her mind kept contemplating about the tiny heartbeat, but her lips were contemplating the same thing Ed's and Jezebel's were.

Jezebel was very handsome in her lacy night gown, so handsome that Ed would not look in her direction. She sat in a iron chair which matched the glass table with iron outlining. She drank iced coffee from a light brown mug which kept her looking slightly occupied. She took sips of it occasionally and remained quiet, only speaking when spoken to. The only thing too noticeable about her besides being fairly attractive was her shiny metallic hair put up in a eighties scrunchy.

Ed, the one leading the conversation, had his shoulder length blonde hair let down as he always does at night. His honey eyes scanned the kitchen every now and again looking for anything out of place. The only glimpse of clothing was a white shirt under his louse thick robe, which had been a Christmas gift. He stood up at the white counter, hovering over Melaine and feeding her cherries whenever she indicated for it. He did not yet realize that he looked very much like a servant; he did not yet realize that this was what Melaine had intended.

They spoke in low tones of what was to be done after the birth.

Ed suggested moving to Finland or England for a while and staying there while the child was raised. He gave a few good reason as to whyt he place was suitable and with his husky voice asked Melaine if she would agree to it. Her response was that she already had a place of design in mind and when Ed inquired as to where that may be, Melaine told him that the Arc de Triomphe was very nice this time of year. Ed replied that that's very nice, but where does she intend to stay?

For this Melaine spoke to Jezebel and questioned her as to what her thought are on this. 'Where is the place I chose to live?'

For this her quiet voice answered with one country: Italy.

Ed did not have time to be mad at the crazy idea (Goddam Mafias there and the Pope!). Before he could argue, there came a long, low shriek of laughter. It was a chilling laugh that sent shivers down one's spine and Goosebumps across their arms. "Perhaps you know me too well?"

Her light, high laugh rang out and threatened to kill any hope. Such a cruel idea she implanted into the head of a person who only ever aided her. Why would a person do such vicious act? It is a question many humans who ever dared to become close to the extravagant blue and silver eyes girl, have thought. They were only human though, they could never fully understand her. And she is not too eager in the idea of befriending her own kind. They all prefer her dead.

Well, all accept one and he believes her dead.

Melaine, who has bad intentions and strange eyes, is still nothing but a child (emotionally); she was one for a few thousand years. After being a child for so long, its not easy to grow up. It was only over the last century that circumstances had convinced her to age physically and therefor emotionally as well. There is only one person in existence that can see the narcissist she is and understand that Melaine is little better than a child. It is not her (ex) lover, it is not her internal company (Karin), it is not her employee (Jezebel), and it is not her cousin (Vinny). It is dear, good Ed.

Ed, whose real name is Theodore, is the only person that can see Melaine's hidden youth. On occasion he even treats her like a child. He did that now by demanding Melaine apologize to Jezebel. He claimed that it was rude to imply you might kill a person to their face.

"Now." Ed sternly demanded.

She returned the argument playfully, "Never."

"Mel! Stop being a brat!"

Melaine eyed him with a weird expression. "Did you just call me a bat?"

"What! No!"

The talk went off form their and Melaine twisted his words to make it sound as if Ed had greatly hurt her pride and then she stomped off to bed and took the cherries with her.

* * *

><p>When morning came Melaine was present at school as the three had discussed last night. She went to school and without trying had heard the new of transfer students. Melaine was sure that they were all bound to be weirdoes, after all who else but a weirdo would come to Namimori middle at this time of year. Suspiciously enough though, there were to be seven of them. All coming from the same school. What a coincidence, Melaine did not think. She knew to be paranoid and suspect anything out of everything. But she also knew <strong>how<strong> to be patient and let some things reveal themselves.

She played with the Vongola boys a little, but Reborn came to the window and the fun was over temporarily. So, she blew him a kiss and sat in her seat. With a noble posture and her hands folded together, she did give off the look of well brought up lately. It passed quickly though when everyone in the room topped to stare at the freak who answered the room.

She called herself Shit. P and looked as if she was trying to dress like an Alien on Halloween. 'Talk about someone who needs to be burned at the stake.' Melaine was already diverting her attention form the thing, but then she heard Hayato announce 'She's not human!" and he sounded very excited.

Melaine whimpered "W..ha..t?"

With her head snapped in his direction she watched as he began to put on some glasses and study her as if she wasn't human. Melaine knew that girl was nothing more than a fragile human, yet she dare to trick Hayato otherwise? Such a pretentious witch. Hayato's glasses were even fogging form the sweat!

Very put off Melaine had her arms crossed and glared at the gloomy boy who muttered his name was 'Kozato Enma"

"Like anyone cares." Melaine snapped.

Her head was turned away so she didn't see the boys' reaction. Not that she cared to anyways.

The rest of the class went on with the presence of the new transfer student, and like most dim witted teenagers they all were thinking about them. And none were thinking particularly good things. The day came and went, until the room's door slid open to reveal a very interesting girl who did not have the appearance of a middle schooler.

With a form fitting long sleeve black shirt with a logo of some kind and low riding jeans, Karin looked like a normal teenager. One who belonged at a concert, not a school. Though the most eye catching thing she wore was a visitors pass that gung around her neck. 'That is what gives her the concert look' Melaine decided.

All politeness she spoke to the teacher. "I'm here to retrieve Ayumu Hoshiko, she shall be excused from this class."

Melaine tilted her head and guessed what the students might think of Karin. Coming from a completely different time she had a face shape that no one else possessed. It gave her face a striking quality. She could be considered attractive by possessing pouty lips and a sharp nose. She had a very dark complexion and was exceedingly fit. Still, there was nothing too outstanding about besides the face shape which made her look a bit agreeable. With the features harmonizing together the only thing Melaine could make out was the interesting quality that kept her a few step ahead from being a plane Jane.

The blonde lost in thoughts murmured "Coming,"

Melaine grabbed her backpack and absent mindedly slid it off her desk while standing up. She looked a bit dazed to others as she passed out the door with the black haired girl, who convinced the teacher to let Melaine go. Being a push over, the teacher complied.

Hugging onto Karin's arm, she followed in step with her. There was silence in the hallways besides for some footsteps and the tweeting of birds. They came to the 'Disciplinary room' to find it completely empty. Not even the mean prefect was there. Karin muttered about Reborn making a deal with Hibari that was none of their concern. Melaine made a light 'hmm' in an uninterested response.

Karin opened the door and Melaine stepped through it. Karin shut door softly and sat down and the furnished couch where Melaine had already taken her seat. Reborn, all seriousness sat across from them without saying a word. For a moment there was a silence which would have intimidated most.

Karin broke the silence first, "I can imagine you know why I asked for us all here." She paused allowing for the tension to ease slightly. "The assurances that I have given to your boss, may not be so assuring for you. It is why I have gathered this party, to make all doubts and hostility decrease in its hold on us."

Reborn stared at her with no emotion. "You want me to let a devil dance with my student and his family?"

"Yes" Karin replied connecting with his gaze. "It would be easier that way for all involved."

"But if you are against that idea, I would gladly just kill them all the same. Either way I think it shall be quite the experience. It has been a while until a group of strong people gathered before my eyes."

Reborn denied the need to kill, "The moment any of them are harmed the deal is off and you're dead."

Melaine gave a light laugh, "Oh yes, because trying to kill me worked so well at dinner." Her amiable face dropped and revealed a harsh expression with cruel eyes. "Do not be so foolish. It is easier for you to break that curse than it is for you to ever kill me. Come back when you have grown a little baby."

"All possibilities aside. If either side breaks the agreement then there is only the future of unhappiness for both." Karin intervened. "Neither Melaine nor your boss would like to have anything about them revealed to the public."

Reborn kept his temper in check, "This agreement will fail is she keeps hanging around."

"This agreement will fail if she doesn't."

Melaine let out a wistful sign. "So it is agreed? This agreement shall fail?" She gave a trusting smile. "Then let us make a new one. A better one! Keeping promises really does not suit me at all, but I find that I am always good for a trade."

They all listened just out of curiously of she had to say.

"I think, that in exchange for the boys' company (and the false ignorance of my whereabouts) I shall give you a reward~ Hmmm….. Now let us see… What reward will a Vongolan like? Riches you already have, and power is not something you need any more of. I know…. Why not some information of sorts?"

With her charming smile at Reborn there was a single bat of her black lashes and a turn of her shoulders. With a slight nod of the head she was indicated to go on.

"No one likes rats. Especially those who whisper secre-"

Reborn rudely cut her off, "Are you claiming there is a traitor in the Vongola?" It was demand to know.

"Of course not!" Melaine exclaimed. "I am claiming that there are traitors in the Vongola. Plural Reborn."

Karin knew to interrupt Melaine from pushing the hitman any farther.

"Along with this, I shall guarantee and personally make sure of the Tenth generation's safety."

The world's self-acclaimed greatest hitman pounced up and jumped to the window. He affirmed the trade, saying he would come to retrace the information at a certain point. He left to tell his boss of the transaction that has taken place and what he want done about it. The girls knew this; after all he was the ninth's most trusted hitman.

Once they left the nice room, the two wandered down halls together talking casually of things. They spoke of the guardians mostly. Karin wasn't worried; she knew that Melaine would not noticeably harm them. Perhaps bite them, but other than that the promise will stick of their safety.

It was unwise to go against the Vongola at the recent point in time, and there was no need to. The Vongola had never been their enemies and it wasn't wished for them to be either. The traitors were ones that had been created by Karin. It was three of the upper echelons, one son of a guardian, and then a guardian himself. The guardian was unaware of his actions, poor Brow Nie had only confide snippets in the girl he had become obsessed with. Still, revealing information is the actions of a rat, but Reborn would not be told about him. He could prove to be quite useful later.

After their quiet conversation Melaine went back to class and slept until school was over. She had a habit of sleeping when things got bad. How could Hayato be so fascinated with this girl? It truly was the worst news she heard all week.

* * *

><p>Ed had awoken a little past eight and groggily made his way to Melaine's room. His intention was only to take her laundry, but he had a more important concern when he saw her still sleeping in the large white bed. She was a messy sleep, with comforters and sheets thrown around in a crazy manor. Still watching lying there, facing the blocked window, Ed was gentle to her.<p>

Without much force, he shook her shoulder and called out her name in an unneeded whisper. She never opened her eyes but she did answer.

"First period has already begun; there is no point in hurrying."

Ed signed and saw her point. We went to the kitchen and got out a bowl and cereal. He was a man who enjoyed big breakfast, but he and Karin could go out for one after Melaine was in school. He got the necessary utensils and glanced at the clock. He decided to let her sleep for ten more minutes.

Going to the living room, Ed was struck with the sudden decision that Melaine would wake up now. Right after the stranger on the couch did. Not knowing what to think Ed grabbed the guy and threw him off the coach.

"Who the hell are you?" Ed demanded holding the stranger against the ground.

He took in the fact he didn't look Japanese at all.

"What the fuck man!" he yelled shooting a strong glare.

He threatened to move and nearly managed to throw Ed off of him, and Ed noticed he had a considerable amount of strength.

"Who are you and why are in this house?"

"My names Eleazar and I'm here because… the pregnant chick let me."

Eleazar couldn't remember her name. He was terrible with them.

Ed thought the story matched up as to something Melaine would do. He let the man go and apologized, before rushing to Melaine's room and tearing down her blanket made screen. Sunlight flooded into the room and beamed upon everything and everyone in it.

Melaine refused to stir.

"Who is he Mel?" Ed questioned keeping his voice at a normal volume.

"Did he not just say his name was Elzar?"

With a furrow brow Ed decided to rephrase the question. "What is he to you?"

Melaine rose form her bed and smirked. For a moment the silver streaks were brighter than the blue which portioned most of her eyes. Voice smooth and haughty "You sound like a jealous lover." She gave a low and drawn out 'ha…" before continuing in a smooth tone. "Fret not. He is only my blood."

Ed caught on quickly to what she was speaking about. Melaine referred to him as her blood, because it was now her blood inside of him, multiplying fifteen times faster than his. A cancer destroying his human DNA so it may become her own. Of course he can never be what Melaine is, for that is something only determined by birth. He is born a human, and so he can never have real immortal blood in his veins. The blood that has been changes belongs to Melaine. What fills his body is technically blood that came from Melaine, so it her blood. He is now her blood, and therefore her's.

Karin had explained this to Ed in case Melaine did something silly. That was how he understood what Melaine was saying. But with that understanding came anger, he was furious that she did such a thing.

His consciousness could not condone the act, "Go to school. Now."

Melaine sensed his anger. It threatened to control him and so he left unable to refrain from breaking the door. The feeling burned inside him, and so Ed left. Ed knew that if he stared at Melaine too long then there was no doubt he would fall prey to his furry. For in him, there was nothing but scorn. At that moment he forgot the fondness he held for the girl who once saved his life.

Ed stormed out of the house, going for a walk to cool down some. After getting ready and talking to Eleazar, Melaine left to go play school with the guardians as she was told. On the way she marveled at how angry Ed had been. To think that such a natural thing disturbed him to this length. How amusing.

Though perhaps his reaction should have been expected, Ed knew what it meant to be changed into a vampire. It meant insanity. How could Ed be ok with taking way someone's sanity?

Arriving at school the teacher asked why she was late, Melaine responded that she was helping an old lady cross the road and there was a lot of traffic. The teacher didn't even get to answer because Melaine took her seat quickly. She assessed the room quickly and noticed that the Vongola class mates looked either too happy or miserable. She wondered why Tenth was so out of shape.

Leaning forward a bit, Melaine pulled a lock of Hayato's hair. He turned around and surprisingly, did not shout or glare. He simply asked what she wanted. In blunt terms she inquired as to what was with the atmosphere. He informed her that the Tenth was going to inherit the title of boss soon.

Her first reaction was a smile; Hayato seemed to have no doubt that the ceremony would happen. This meant Tenth didn't have the guts to say he didn't want to be the Vongola boss. Melaine figured that the guardians would probably get to the actual ceremony before he said anything, and that suited Melaine perfectly. There, at the inheritance ceremony, she would stand unnoticed and undetected by some of the most powerful men in the world.

It would be thrilling.

The irresponsible female didn't have any concern at all. She was marked with boldness and disregard for any consequences. With a heavy sigh, the middle schooler fell into a dreamy state; Melaine eagerly awaited the party she wasn't invited to.


	15. INTENT

School started for me last week and Philosophy was just like a collage class. It really threw me off, but made me realize that everyone should read the book 'The abolition of man' by the guy who wrote Lord of the rings/ no wait, Narnia. I'm not sure but it was one of the two. They knew each other so yeah. Anyways, I would like to thank **Theallmightydee9009** for editing this even when she had her own shit to do. Also I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, added my story or me to their favorite, added my story to their alerts, and added me to their alerts. I am always thrilled when I find someone did that. Thank you so much! I don't even know who you are, but I would pergere myself in court for you. No lie, I'm serious.

Thanks again to **theallmightdee9009**, and my current beta's **Serandi82** & **Shenhui**!

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR. I know, it took me by surprise too…

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><p>In Namimori middle there is a small breakfast house called Nammy's. In this breakfast house called Nammy's there are eleven middle school students from Namimori middle school. Of these eleven middle schoolers there are ten which are in the mafia. Of these ten mafia middle schoolers from Namimori middle school there are two which bear proof of inheriting their ancestor will. One of these ancestors once walked with a young girl of seven thousand. This young girl is now at the physical age of fifteen, and in this girl (who is the physical age of fifteen) there is a baby.<p>

This baby was often quiet, but since the moment a boxing junky started to talk about being extreme, this baby started to kick. Ryohei Sasagawa is a young man with a bright future that still hasn't passed middle school. Many call him an idiot and he is an idiot—an idiot to the extreme. But whenever a word comes out of his mouth Melaine receives a very extreme kick. This made Melaine want to tell Ryohei that the baby wanted to join the boxing club.

"Ryohei the baby wants to join the boxing club." Melaine informed him while sitting in the seat next to Tenth. Most of Shimon was gathered as long with most of the Vongola.

Ryohei's eyes began to burn, but before he could say anything Hayato was already stopping the nonsense by saying "SHUT UP!"

Everyone did and gave Hayato their full attention as the big guy finally sat in. Melaine was between the wall (which had a window) and Tenth. Across from her, sitting on the other side of the table, was the depressing transfer kid in her class.

"What the hell! Why isn't every one of Vongola and Shimon here?" Hayato demanded.

"W-well… It can't be helped Gokudera-kun." Said Tenth trying to pacify him. Hayato slouched in his chair with an unsatisfied expression. "Hibari-san doesn't like crowds and Lambo went out to play. We called Chrome in Kokuyou Land, but Jyoushima Ken hung up on us."

The big chested girl sitting next to Enma began to talk. She had excuses as to why her member weren't here too. Melaine shot an angry look when Hayato took particular interest in the fact wannabe Alien was meditating right now.

Tenth urged him off the subject (Shitt.P) and asked Hayato why everyone was gathered here.

"Today you were attacked by some mafia punks that want to interfere with out ceremony. There's no guarantee it won't happen again." Melaine eagerly nodded her head in agreement. "That's where Vongola and Shimon need to come together and protect the Tenth, along with this area!"

He then went on about teams and who would protect at what time. Melaine noticed she wasn't on the list and when she asked why Hayato shouted "You can't be doing that stuff in your condition!" He then went on about his ideas to protect the Tenth and Yamamoto and Ryohei gave him praise for his effort.

"No no! Wait a second Gokudera-kun!" Tenth shouted. "You don't have to go that far!"

Melaine quickly had a serious expression and then took Tenth's face into her hands. Looking as if she was earnest she announced "Have no fear Tenth. I will protect you and these virgin lips."

Quickly she brought herself to them and slipped her tongue into his mouth. She took the time to take out her fangs and press down as to pierce the skin of his bottom lip. This all happened so quickly Tenth couldn't react even when she sucked the blood a little. No one had a clue what was going on.

Hayato recovered fast enough and yanked Tenth away so quickly Melaine thought the kid would get back lash. "You!" Hayato yelled, unable to form anymore words. Everyone in the booths was surprised and gapping t what just happened. All except Ryohei, who said she was extreme and made the baby kick. Unsure of what to do after a few minutes everyone just acted as if it hadn't happened, although Hayato threw her dirty looks every now and again.

Three of the boys (Ryohei, Hayato, and some guy with glasses who was really an idiot like Ryohei) started to argue over something stupid as young boys like to do. Their argument kept getting more heated, but was vanquished when the big booibe girl easily called off Aoba (guy with glasses who was really an idiot like Ryohei) and then left with the family members of Shimon.

Reborn then appeared drinking from a mug. Alcohol reeked from the drink, causing the vampire's nose twitched.

"Hey! Are you sure this is okay!" Tenth whispered. "Gokudera-kun is getting different families involved!"

"Why are you so upset Tsuna? Was your second kiss that disappointing?" Reborn asked enjoying Tenth blush.

"I thought it was pretty good." Melaine commented. "But Tenth, you stud! You never dropped a word about having a fist kiss." The French kisser gave him a cheeky grin. Tenth blushed and left in a hurry. Reborn went to follow him and tipped his hat to Melaine on his way out, she responded by saluting him.

Reborn had a very different attitude from yesterday. The blue eyes girl pondered this as she sucked more of a drink through a straw. Her arms were crossed on the table and she noticed that everyone stuck her with the check.

No wonder Reborn had been nice.

* * *

><p><em>Karin's and Reborn's secret conversation<em>

"_Don't worry too much about. Mel is way too self-concerned to get deeply involved in Vongola business." Karin assured in a very comfortable manor. She wasn't in business mode because it had been her personal choice to try and ease Reborn a little bit. She understood that it was probably stressful for him in this situation._

"_She acts like a manipulative child." Reborn told her. Karin shrugged her shoulders._

"_Some people don't grow up." Karin smirked at the irony of her words. "It's easy enough to handle her. Just don't give her the satisfaction of teasing you. Pretend like you don't care and if you do just take it out on the young Sawada. She'll stop pestering you for the most part."_

_Reborn smirked this time. "Not if she was aware we've know each other for several years."_

_Karin nodded with sly grin. "Some things are better left unsaid. "_

* * *

><p>Melaine was at the Sawada house pretty early three days after the breakfast house kiss. She didn't care for guarding the Tenth, but when it was Hayato's turn and he was with that harlot Shitt.P, it was obvious she had to go. There is no way it is good for someone to spend that much time on a person they don't really know. At least that's what Melaine thought.<p>

When she arrived that Harlot was pretending to be a Christmas reef in the entry way. Reborn was sticking bugs in her mouth, but the girl wouldn't break. Melaine gave a wide smile.

"Let me try!" she demanded, marching over to the harlot. She sought retribution for Hayato's obsession with Shit P. The freak was hanging upside down covered with used cans. Melaine knew what she should so.

"Nana!" Melaine called from outside. "Do have some pencils I can borrow?"

Nana was quick to oblige her and give a handful of pencils she kept in a drawer. Melaine smiled brightly and thanked her, before marching over to Shitt.P. The girls were face to face, although shit. P's was upside down.

Melaine held one pencil in each hand like utensils. With a haughty expression there was a quick jerk of two hands.

A pencil was shoved into both of Shtit.P's hearing organs.

The seductress still didn't move as blood leaked out of her ears.

"I may have broken her ear drums." Melaine commented. Tenth cried out in horror at Melaine's merciless nature. "Let's try again." She suggested taking out more pencils.

This time they were plunged down her nose. Red liquid started to pool in her nostrils', making it difficult for the wannabe alien to breathe. Suddenly the girl hanging upside down like a Christmas reef started to gasp with her mouth. Like a fish. Her purple lips opened into a wide hole for air and then promptly shut into a pucker, silently. She kept doing this as blood overfilled her nose, dripping down the sides.

Melaine announced, "One more hole."

But before the pencil went into the girl's mouth, Hayato arrived.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Melaine dropped the pencils and gave Hayato the most innocent smile she could manage. He wasn't affected by it.

Tenth was behind Reborn explaining to Hayato that Shitt.P had been like this all night. "I tried flickering her on her forehead, doodling on her face, and forcing bugs into her mouth but she wouldn't move. Melaine even tried sticking pencil in her." Reborn informed him. "If she can't even communicate with us, then I doubt she'll be able to guard Tsuna. Your so called "U.M.A" is completely useless."

"That's not true!" Hayato argued desperately. "An U.M.A can guard to! Just watch! I'll take all responsibility in making her cooperate!"

He then turned to the supposed U.M.A with an earnest look. Melaine stomped a foot on the ground in protest as Hayato asked Shitt.P to hear him out. Shitt.P gave her first real sign of movement and blinked. After one long second she stuck her tongue out and bounced away from the Sawada house.

"U.M.A's are useless after all." Said two people in the exact same manor. One was a baby and one was a baby mama.

Hayato flinched at their words. "I'll bring her back immediately!" he cried and started to chase after her.

"Leave the guarding duty to me and Rauji, from Shimon." Said Reborn.

"I'm sorry! And thank you!" Hayato hollered racing out the front gate.

Melaine took off after him, desperate to sway his interest in Shitt.P. The harlot was trying to seduce him! So as Hayato was running after a supposed Alien, Melaine was running after him in an attempt to gain his attention, yelling, "WAIT HAYATO! I'M A VAMPIRE AND HAVING A VAMPIRE BABBY!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Next day…<span>_

"Ancelin, have you gotten the invitation yet?" Melaine asked standing in front of the bathroom mirror. The bathroom was a large one that had a bathtub and a two person sink.

"Yes, I got two of them." Ancelin answered, looking over some papers with dress designs on them. She remembered receiving one from Brow Nie and stealing the other from when he was in bed the other night.

Ancelin looked over the dresses and picked out a design she rather favored, then suggested that Melaine where something that flows out so her pregnancy wasn't too noticeable. With a laugh Melaine replied:

"It would be more suitable to show off my condition. For no one would think I am capable of this."

"Many," Ancelin began to tell her. "Often whispered that you aged simply to seduce men and get them to do your biding."

The blonde smirked, "Only men? Really, if I were to personally try and seduce people I would go after both sexes."

"It is surprising that you haven't ordered me to seduce a woman." Ancelin commented looking over more dresses. "Any particular color you want?"

"Grey, but shiny like silver. I want to match Hayato's eyes." Melaine snatched a paper out of her hands and glanced at it a moment. "This one will do. Now go visit Brow Nie and keep me updated." Melaine ordered. Ancelin nodded and left at the exact moment Ed walked in.

He had news to tell her about the Vongola. Apparently the current boss and his entire set of guardians are in Japan preparing for something. When Melaine informed him of the ceremony and her notion of attending it he nodded his head in agreement. The common thing for him to do was argue over her silly idea, but Ed decided in a split moment that it was best for her to go. She may be caught and discovered easily, but because of these high risks even Melaine will be careful of the danger. Ed knew this and it was why he agreed.

Also, her being at the ceremony would give him time to shack up with Karin.

He didn't tell her that part though.

So with Ed's approval and Ancelin's help, Melaine felt sure that her attendance at the ceremony would be a success. It occurred to her that with this ceremony everything would be reaching its closing. Tenth would succeed as boss, probably leave Namimori with his guardians, and then the child would come very soon. In about three weeks, Kana (her doctor) said. She would leave this place and hang out in Italy for a while. Afterward Karin and Ed would depart from her and head off to some place.

A month and she would say goodbye everything in Japan. A month may seem long from some people, but for a pureblood vampire ten years goes by in a blink of an eye. To Melaine, it felt as is only a moment ago she had killed some girl in order to steal her identity.

With the thought about her identity it was clear the thing had only become a nuisance now. "Elzar." she called walking into the kitchen where he was eating. He looked up with a dopey expression as his moth was full of cereal. Melaine reached for a pen and wrote down numbers and a few words on a sheet of paper.

"Go to this address and kill the residence. There is only a set of parents and a young girl. I would like this done as soon as can be." She told him and then opened a drawer that had a vanilla folder in it. It contained all the information on the family of Ayumi, along with pictures.

"**Do not speak,"** Melaine commanded with her will power. Eleazar said nothing, through his eyes made it clear he was struggling. This is the first time Melaine used her power over him. It was now her blood flowing through him, keeping his body alive. That body can recognize Melaine's will over his own, if she puts enough effort into it.

"**Do as I say and then return**."

Without any hint of reluctance Eleazar stood up, grabbed the vanilla folder and left to do as his master ordered. Melaine held an expression of contempt as she sat down on the iron chair. Her arms were placed over the iron's chairs and she crossed her legs while watching his back leave out the front door.

His body didn't even twitch when she forced a command on him. Eleazar had survived being infected while bleeding to death at the same time; Melaine hoped he might have been special. But his will was not strong enough to resist her command—his body defied him so easily. Weak. Was him surviving simply chance or something else?

Melaine glanced out the window and watched as a bee flew around her yard. It buzzed onto a leaf of and rested there for a moment before going higher to check out the roof. The busy bee would do that, slowly land on an item only to fly off the next second. As the small creature fluttered in the air a bird swooped down and clamped its beak down on the insect before flying off.

* * *

><p>During the night, Melaine had snuck into Ed's room. It was absolutely dark as the door creaked open, and it was absolutely dark as the door closed. Ed remained restless as he turned in his sleep; the door's noise went unnoticed by him.<p>

"Ed," Melaine whispered as she climbed on to the bed. All she received in response was a groaning noise. His eyelid remained closed so Melaine pinched his left arm, the one she was closest to.

"Owww.." he mumbled turning over so that his back was to her. With a small frown she pinched him again. He just rolled to the other side of the bed. One more time she squeezed his skin and in response he rolled off the bed.

"Wha!" he shouted in surprise at hitting the floor. His body sprung up into a sitting position. He spotted a girl sitting on his bed, and it wasn't Karin. "Wwaaat?" he asked getting back on the bed.

"I'm craving affection. Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Ed put the blankets up to his neck. "Wa'ver." He mumbled illegibly and passed out easily.

Melaine smiled and then snuggled into bed with him. She laid on the left side of the bed facing the right while Ed slept on the right side facing her. His face looked young when he was asleep, like a child's. One of those rotten little boys who cause nothing but trouble. Not peaceful, but so natural and care free. Especially with drool coming from his mouth.

"I don't care what anyone says about you, you're okay in my book." She told him honestly. Ed's body was close enough to her own that she was able to successfully rest her head on his chest and fall asleep.

Until five minutes later when the alarm clock rang telling them to wake up, it's seven am.

"Uh, why is it so dar- oh yeah, Mel."

"Um?" she responded to hearing her name called. Ed was too sleep to realize anything, all he could do was respond. He knew that the light was blocked by a heavy blanket hanging on the window. 'Maybe I could throw something and knock it down?' he thought groggily. The idea of him having to get up was a bad one in his mind, but some part of him said he had to. It was his logic, and his logic also told him to turn the lights on.

"I need something to throw..." he said to himself sleepily.

"There is an alarm clock." Melaine suggested. Somehow, at the time, the suggestion seemed really smart.

It was in a way, because not only was the blanket knocked down, Ed also jumped up and was on high alert because of the crashing. The sun burned brightly in the room and showed to Ed he wasn't alone. This took him by surprise since he didn't remember Melaine jumping in his bed. "What are you doing here?" he questioned bewildered.

"I wanted some affection." She confessed. Ed always took care of her; they both expected him to now.

"You have to go to school," Ed commented.

Melaine rebutted "I have fifteen minutes to spare."

It was made very obvious that Melaine wanted some attention, and Ed couldn't turn down a request from some who is pregnant. A bit reluctantly he slid into bed and gave his full attention to her. At first they only gazed into each other's eyes, but that made Ed very uncomfortable so he tried to have a conversation. It crashed and burned due to Melaine's lack of response.

"Ha… seeing you struggle is kind of cute."

Ed scrunched his nose. "Your breath smells like… blood."

She retorted "You smell like blood."

This led to a conversation which Melaine agreed to answer a few of his question. He was a man of science and felt the thirst to know more. He asked her about smells and many other things she didn't like talking about. For her it was annoying to go over these thing countless times.

"I would not put up with these annoying questions from just anyone."

With a dry look, Ed said "Gee whiz. I'm so lucky to have you as a friend."

"You had no choice; I refused to leave you alone."

"I remember. After the first few encounters I decided not to get involved with you. After all, you made me a wanted criminal in my home town—for a plane."

"I shared it with you." Melaine mentioned.

"And wrecked it! On a deserted island! On purpose!"

"I felt that we needed to become closer acquainted and we did—despite your efforts not to." Ed signed and remembered the horrid time he had on that island. He also remembered that there was something he couldn't help but like about her.

"Yes, and despite your effort, it's time to go to school." He announced and maneuvered out of bed. Melaine didn't protest and got ready to play school in less than ten minutes. She ate, brushed, and put clothes on before steeping close to the back door. There was a small not hanging on the door, it's was written in French by someone who obviously had an eloquent hand: Jezebel. 'Visiting Brow Nie, will return.—Ancelin'. Both Jezebel and Eleazar were out doing what she wished for, so it was only Ed and Melaine in the house. This was an awful idea. Neither of them knew how to do the laundry.

"Ed, why is it that you love me again?" inquired the middle schooler on her way out the door.

From the kitchen Ed swallowed a gulp of milk. He would humor her with the honest answer. "Because you have the most beautiful will I have ever seen."*

* * *

><p>Throughout the school day every mafian was on patrol. All besides the gloomy kid with pretty red eyes and the well-developed, boobie girl. Those two were absent for the entire day. Melaine's time was spent either sleeping or pretending to sleep. There wasn't much else to do since everybody interesting was busy guarding the Tenth or gone. But for the passing eight hours went bye faster than a blink. She had gone from sleeping on her desk, to eating, to leaving school.<p>

The day didn't seem as short for Tenth as it seemed for Melaine. For the entire school day he seemed a bit peaky and stressed, eventually Melaine inquired as to why he was more twitchy than usual. Her insult didn't even affect him and he began to answer:

"I'm wro—"

She cut in "Never mind." On second thought she didn't really care about his problems. There is a perfectly good mom at home to listen to him whine about how terrible his life.

Being quick, Melaine ditched him in the class room. They were the last to leave since she had been sleeping and Tenth had been lost in his thoughts. After being around Tenth and his negative emotion, Melaine decided to cheer herself up by seeing Ryohei. That guy always made things seem good. He was so extreme.

Spotting the brown haired girl who claimed to be his sister Melaine called her out."Sasagawa."

The girl turned around and smiled at her. Melaine cut down to chase and asked about her brother's whereabouts. With a troubled looked the girl apologized sweetly and said something about how she didn't know. The conversation ended there. While the girl was on her way down stairs, Melaine gave her a helping hand. One that forced her to fall down a flight of stairs. This world is no place for someone as useless as her.

Melaine kept walking, as the girl cried out in pain. She probably only broke her wrist, what a complainer. 'I should have pushed her down two flights'. Melaine thought.

Going home, one of her servants was there to greet her. It was Eleazar, he looked clean and fresh. No hint of blood or getting into a fight with anyone. "It's done" he told. Melaine made some kind of response and the asked where Ed was. Eleazar shrugged his shoulders and continued to play some kind of video game consult while drinking a beer. Melaine observed that he was rather good at video games as she passed him on the way to the bedroom. Quickly she took off the school uniform and put on something a little more comfortable.

Melaine passed the living room again where Eleazar was still paying his game and drinking. This time she passed him to grab her coat from the sofa. "I'm going out to eat." She told him while shrugging on the black coat. Eleazar put the game on pause.

"Can you bring me back a cheeseburger—one that taste good." He commented.

With a snort she replied "I am a vampire. Last time I ate a cheese burger the place ended up burning down."

"Uh, yeah I don't want a cheese burger from there."

"Good to know." She replied walking to the door. Melaine felt pleased at seeing a few kids pass by her house. People were coming home from school at this time. Before Eleazar said anymore Melaine shut the door to her house and waited against a wall outside.

Eventually, one lone high schooler passed by her house. Pretending to leave, Melaine fell to the grownd on her knees and cried out in pain. The kid in a uniform rushed over to try and help her. When offering his assistance she cried "My boyfriend is in the house. Ahh! Just take me inside to him!"

Caught up in the panic he quickly helped her to the door and opened it for her. Melaine slammed the door and Eleazar looked up to the scene in confusion. The pregnant girl was now standing straight and dropped any sign of distress. The kid went from confusion to fear quickly.

Before he could cry out Melaine was in front of him. Her hand slammed against his head, sending a flow of energy to his brain. The kid passed out and fell to the floor without much resistance. Catching him by the collar of his uniform, Melaine easily threw the Asian high schooler to the sofa.

Towering over the passed out teenager, the kidnapper turned her head toward Eleazar.

"Honey, I brought dinner."

His eyes shifted, "I prefer Wataburger."

With a snicker she remarked, "Not anymore."

"Uh, you go ahead."

Melaine's lips twisted into a smile as she began to feed upon her prey. Blood began to snake its way down his throat, thin trails falling away from the shallow wound. Eleazar's own untamed hunger began to grow. Lifting up her head, crimson dripped the sharp points and down her chin. Moving slowly, Melaine traced her tongue upon the human's neck, licking up every drop of running blood.

Rising from the boy's throat, the blue eyed creature stared at her servant while licking the blood off her lips.

"Uh, can you bring a girl next time?"

Melaine scoffed "Foods in the fridge."

[BRRRR]

One hand pulled a cell phone from her pocket as the other was opening the door to outside. The vibration had come from the hospital, Kana. Melaine disregarded the beginning; it was just rants about killing the man with tacky shoes, nothing of interest. The second part talked about visiting the hospital in a few days. Apparently, it was essential that Melaine get a checkup.

Her fingers were already typing a response when she sensed someone's killer intent from behind her. With a haughty expression, Melaine could tell that Eleazar was feeding on the boy. It's a good thing Melaine had barely taken any blood from the boy; it left more for Eleazar to drink.

Slyly sneaking into the house, the pureblooded vampire appreciated the scene before her. Eleazar was tightly grasping the high schooler's wrist and drinking from it. He was too engrossed in his first feeding to notice her, or the righteous look she wore.

"I was under the impression that you preferred Wataburger." She interrupted. His body tensed and immediately he pulled away from the wrist.

"We didn't have any."

Melaine considered this for a moment and then nodded. "Good to know."

In the town of Namimori there is a house. In this house there currently live four residences. Of these housing residences there is one that owns a computer. In this computer there is a connection to Namimori hospital. Through this connection one of residence received an e-mail. This e-mail contained data about a T. G .V. G when they are checked into the hospital.

So inside Namimori, inside the house, in the computer, inside the e-mail, Melaine just learned of Yamamoto Takeshi… in critical condition.

A booming laugh rang out through the house in the town of Namimori.

* * *

><p>* "Because you have the most beautiful will I have ever scene."— I claim the line. I thought of it myself and thought 'wow. I'm goddamn genius.' If I find out someone has used this line, or the 'beautiful will' part I'm gonna do something darastic. Rar!<p>

*T.G.V.G—Tenth Generation Vongola Guardian


	16. mixed

Omg! I swear that I had all this done yesterday, but the electricity on my street went out! And today I had school, so I wasn't able to get on fanfiction and post it. This upset me a little because I felt that this chapter was miracle! I completely blew it off since I wasn't in the mood, but then on Thursday wrote until 2am and finished it all on Friday. Crazy, right? Almost as crazy as that time I saw on someone's fanficiton that they were listening to the same song and book that I was. Or that time I met someone who had the same exact birthday as I did: year, month, day, time.

Sorry, for some reason I really wanted to tell you that. Anyway thanks to my betas.

**Disclaimer: I do not one KHR**.

* * *

><p>"VOOOOOOOIIIII!"<p>

Melaine shifted her head to look in the direction of the loud yell. With fake brown eyes she skimmed over the rambunctious scene before her. The core members of the Varia had arrived by personal helicopter, and Squalo greeted the Tenth generation in his usual gruff manor. He shouted about his boss' absence and then turned to Yamamoto in order to see if he had been training. With the stiff response the figure gave off, Melaine (and Squalo) immediately saw through it. Not to mention she was well aware of an illusion when she saw one and had personal knowledge of Yamamoto being in critical condition. The doctor report concluded that the patient wouldn't be recovered for months.

Melaine turned back and continued to glance over the mafia scene before her. The pregnant girl blended in well with the crowd. Her blonde hair was combed towards the back and styled into the updo, with a few locks of hair freely falling and curving to her neck. On her throat there was a silver chain holding a single diamond; it had been a gift from Aleksander.

Her pregnancy was very exposed but with a fake wedding ring on her finger no one there questioned it. Garbed in a silver garment, she could have been any Mafioso. For someone who is pregnant girl she managed to pull off the silk dress with a classy image. And with her eyes hidden away in brown contacts, no one gave a thought to who she was.

Walking into the stone castle, her heels stepped against the grand tiling underneath and she took another sip from a drink. A slight smile graced her colored lips when her tongue touched the fruity drink. Of course the lipstick she wore was blood red that gave a contrasting look with her smoky eye shadow.

She was in the middle of a crowd with many well-dressed adults. Everyone was gathering in largest room of the castle. The floors were so polished that it's easy to see reflections except where the red carpet lied. After every mafian waited in the impressive room an officiate announced the ceremony would now begin.

Everybody became silent.

Melaine stood in the back with the females but was still able to see the events happening from spaces between the audiences. No one besides dates stuck too close together.

The first person to walk out was the Ninth boss of the Vongola; he was completely surrounded by his six guardians, all dressed for the occasion. After the Ninth generation was positioned in the center, Melaine watched as the Tenth generation walked down the red carpet, led by their short boss. Even Hibari was there.

An unknown man carried a delicately carved box to the Vongola. Tenth stepped towards the box, and he was now the center of everyone's attention. The bald carrier stood between the current boss of the Vongola and the future one, offering the black box. Every guardian had their eyes scanning the room and this did not go unnoticed by Melaine.

"Now…" announced the bald man in a booming voice, "The inheritance"

The wrinkly old boss took the black case from the cushion and held it before Tenth. It opened to reveal a small vial containing red liquid. Melaine recognized it as donor blood. She could still smell the hospital fumes on it.

In a gentle tone the Ninth spoke "I pass this on to you, Decimo."

Tenth reached for the glass vial and the blood gave a ripple from inside.

[SCCRRREEEECCCCCH]

With a sharp gasp, Melaine flinched to the piercing sound. It was too high for her sensitive ears and even all the humans were grasping their ears in pain. The sound wouldn't stop and Melaine never felt so sick as she did with that sound ringing in her ears.

Withstanding another flinch, Melaine felt an instinctive shock run through her body—danger.

Quickly she headed toward the exit, but due to her pregnancy couldn't run at full speed and got caught up in the one of the explosive attacks fired on the room. She could withstand the force from the explosions, but the chunks of blasted off marble wasn't taken so easily. The shards blasted from the building and slammed into her head, knocking her unconscious.

Without a doubt if she wasn't pregnant then Melaine could have escaped. Yet she was, and because of that the ceremony posed more danger to her than she had speculated. It could very well be a fatal error.

* * *

><p>A swarm of black was all Melaine could see so she assumed somehow she had reached an ultimate state of sleep. However, the noises were too strong to be unconscious, so she made another assumption: her eyes were merely closed. How suspicious, she didn't remember closing her eyes. All she remembered was heading for an exit and a flying piece of stone hitting her skull. It took a complete two second for her to realize that due to her condition she was vulnerable to those kinds of things.<p>

It was a strange realization for her. She had never completely blacked out like that, even when sleeping. She had never been so cut off from the world; it wasn't an unenjoyably experience. Pondering this for a second Melaine decided it was best to open her eyes now. After all there was someone in this room too. And he smelled strongly of metal.

Melaine opened her eyes to a wrinkly old man with a Mohawk. She was lying on her left side without putting herself in that position, but it wasn't too concerning. The fact she was in what looked like a dungeon with this old man was concerning.

"Why the hell am I in the same room as you?" Melaine asked watching him as he took out a vial of blood with his black talons. Before him was a rectangle table with old fashioned science and black smith equipment. In his other hand there was a hammer made of some bird's bones. Melaine noted he still had tacky taste.

Sitting up, she lifted one hand to touch the tender spot on her head. As expected the place was tender and bruised. The flying chunk of marble must have hit her relatively hard for her to still have a bruise; falling on her back probably didn't help. Though she was still dazed form the hit, the vampire was still able to think out why she passed out.

Something like that usually wouldn't effect to such an extent.

The expected mother to be concluded that her body was more concerned about the baby and spent everything it had to protect and keep it safe while leaving Melaine completely open, completely weak. Which caused her to pass out when some of the debris smashed into her.

Using her left arm to push herself from the couch, the blonde couldn't even stand up before collapsing on to the couch. Talbot gave her a few words before starting his work. "Everyone wanted the medic to look at you, of course they didn't know who or even what you are. Except the Ninth and Reborn."

It was easy to tell that she was with Talbot only because they couldn't deal with her in this crisis— and he could. The vampire was in a delicate condition so they safely lock her up with Talbot for a while until she fully recovered, and at the same time got rid of her as a hindrance for a while.

Melaine shuffled herself around on the couch and while Talbot began to work on the rings.

Her thoughts kept drifting and wandering until she was replaying what happened at the ceremony. People had been screaming and running toward the exit, she had been running too. Then the chunk of stone slammed into her skull— and it was her own fault. There had been one split second when she looked back, curious as to how he was fairing in the fight.

Then after that there had been a split second when her cranium was bashed with part of the marble walls.

It took a few hours for Talbot to get all the rings into interesting shaped stones; by then Melaine had regained enough strength to walk around the room and peer over his shoulder as he worked.

Out curiosity, she reached to touch one of the weirdly formed rocks. The moment her hand had become within range she felt a sharp, cold metal slide along her skin causing her to bleed.

The bastard Talbot cut her middle finger!

Melaine hissed when she felt the slight burn coming from it. Figured that he would carry an anti-vampire weapon him.

"This is simply not my day." Melaine spit out as covered her wound with a rag. It was a small cut but wouldn't heal immediately since the wound had been made by an anti-vampire weapon. Her tongue traced over the open flesh in hopes that it might heal faster that way.

Talbot announced "Done." And put down his hammer. Delicately. He placed the clunky rocks on a mobile tray and began to wheel them out of there. Melaine followed, still wanting to touch one of them.

They were undisturbed in their walk towards the guardian's waiting room. Both she and Talbot listened in on their conversation as they got closed. The Tenth generation talked of clearing up the misunderstanding with Shimon and winning.

"We'll see if you really are ready. If your resolution is real, then they should reply to you." Said Talbot as he strolled in the cart and showed them all the rocks.

The Tenth generation was so shocked by the state of the rings that they didn't even notice her behind Talbot. Everyone assumed that Talbot had failed and there situation with Shimon was now hopeless.

"Ho ho ho. Hold your horses young ones. It hasn't been decided whether it's a failure or not. These are one stage before the Vongola rings are reborn." Talbot informed pleasantly. "My job ends here. The one that will complete the upgrade is you. The new bodies of the Vongola rings have been created. You must awaken the souls."

"Awaken the souls?" Tenth questioned.

"Yes. Just like before you must send energy to them. And light up the most powerful flame you can. However, you only have one chance." Looking more excited he began to raise his voice. "If your resolution is feeble, then you'll only fail again. Without your most powerful flames you could never sustain the life of the rings, must less stand against Shimon."

The boys looked blindsided by this news and Talbot kept talking about how if they don't succeed with their resolution then something bad shall happen. Oh, and their animals will die. They boys didn't look happy with this new information.

The Tenth picked up with own rock and gave it a contemplating stare. Melaine noted that the rock looked very similar to his hair.

"Let's do it!" Tenth declared.

"Of course Tenth!"

"We'll show you resolution to the EXTREME!" Ryohei shouted. The baby kicked violently at his extreme words. Although the pain had faded from her body for the most part, the movement still hurt Melaine when it was done, but she refused to let weakness show. Especially if it's real.

The boys focused on their rocks but it wasn't enough and no one was able to get them motivated. It wasn't until the world greatest hitman said something that any really happened.

"Your family's waiting for you!" Reborn barked, inspiring in them a deeper need for the rings.

The rocks began to crumble into little debris, revealing to them…. Accessories? "Lame."

Talbot explained to them that the rings are now Vongola gear and were suited specifically for then Tenth generation. Everyone was still so impressed by their shiny new fashion statements that they had yet to notice Melaine. After a comment from Talbot, everyone ran off to check on Hibari and see if he was able to upgrade his ring. Melaine might have gone too, but she received a vibration from the ankle she had strapped her cell phone to.

Quickly she slid the phone from its hold and snapped it open.

"Yes?" Melaine answered.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt? What about the baby?"

She recognized Ed's frantic voice and the sound of a helicopter in the back. "Fine, I landed on my back. Did Karin not tell you this was going to happen?"

"Not until already had. Don't worry I'm on my way." Ed replied and hung up.

Staring at her phone, there was a realization that at the moment she probably wasn't looking too great after being knocked to the ground. This led to her wandering around the castle looking for a bathroom. She found one and was pleased to see the giant mirrors. In a few minutes she was able to watch her face and fix herself up to where looked presentable. Almost like she had never gotten hit with a giant piece of marble.

Her phone buzzed again, and it was Ed who texted that he as on his way. With the cellular device in her grasp, Melaine stared over the sink filled with water. Her hand hovered over the surface until she finally let loose of the contents she was holding. Gently the cell dropped into the water: it sank to the bottom and released a few bubbles on its way down.

After eavesdropping on the Vongola meeting, Melaine made preparations to arrive at the island. She wasn't going for the danger, but rather she was sure that the school boy fight between the gloomy kid and Tenth would be interesting. That was why immediately she took a map and a speed boat (from the Vongola) then headed toward the location.

* * *

><p>The small boat bumped over the waves as Melaine got closer to shore. The waves sprayed salt water on her face, but despite it she kept her eyes trained on the figure ahead. A little after the island appeared so did a small boat carrying five figures. Even from a distance Melaine could tell that it was Hayato, Tenth, Ryohei, the Veal, and Reborn.<p>

The moment her ding's motor touched the sand she jumped out of it and wadded her way to the shore. All the boys were there waiting for her; probably because they didn't know what else to do in that situation.

"What are you doing here?" Hayato demanded.

"Hayato," she started, "I'd follow you to the end of the world, much less an island filled with juveniles."

Hayato's face scrunched up into a frustrated expression, but Melaine kept talking and faced toward the island: "I challenge the harlot!" Hayato looked behind him where she staring. All seven members of Shimon were standing on a rock formation several stories high.

"I think you made the correct choice in coming alone," Enma said with a terse look. "If there we—

Melaine cut him off. "No one cares." She paused for a moment and glared. "Who was the imbecile that decided to blow up the place?"

There was no response from Shimon. There was no response from anyone.

Aoba was about to argue but Reborn spoke first. "Were you the one who called them here? The keepers of the law in the mafia world."

Who the question was meant for wasn't clear, but it certainly wasn't Melaine who did it. The Vindice were a group of people who could restrict Melaine if they really wanted to, so she naturally didn't like them. Doing a slight spin, the blonde hair vampire zoned out on the conversation and noticed her dingy wasn't tied down. She watched as her dingy floated away with the waves of the ocean. It kept drifting father and farther until the erratic waves flipped it over. Good bye little dingy.

Looking around, Melaine tuned in to hearing Tenth yelling 'Wait!' and flying off to go search for Enma. He was gone a good five minutes before he returned claiming he couldn't find him. The Tenth didn't look like he lost any hope though.

With a scrunch of her nose she asked "What's going on?"

Hayato's head snapped into her direction. At one his parental face was turned on. "Go back to the boats! It's too dangerous for you here."

"My dingy floated away so I just have to leave with you guys."

In her elegant dress with updo hair, it finally occurred to them that she had been at the inheritance ceremony the whole time. It struck that she had been with Talbot and in the room when it was attacked. This led to Hayato scolding her for being in so much danger and blah, blah, blah. Melaine was happy for his concern and cheerily asked if he would carry her up the mountain. Strangely, he became quiet after that.

They all walked together for five hours until meeting the first challenger: it was the boxing idiot who looked like a nerd. Ryohei decided to fight him and they had a pretty intense boxing fight where it was revealed that Aoba had perfect vision. The swirling leaves were what impressed Melaine the most.

During the fight, Hayato vaguely explained the loser would be locked up in prison until the day they die. Melaine realized that she had yet to land her bite mark on Ryohei. He couldn't go to prison yet.

After the ultimate punches, Ryohei and Aoba weakly charged at each other: pushing their limits for their pride. Both fists connected to their target's cheek and both targets began to fall.

It was a tie.

With a quick dash Melaine went toward Ryohei. The chains had started to appear out of some black hole and wrapped themselves around the losers, lifting them up. In a desperate movement Melaine wrapped her arms around Ryohei's neck and pressed her lips against his sweaty throat. Blood just began to spill into her mouth when he was yanked away from her.

"Ryohei!" she cried reaching her hand toward him.

The Vindice came out announcing exactly what had just happened and Tenth cried out against the act. Ryohei shouted at him to defend his own pride, because he knows it is there. Idiot didn't even realize he just got bit from a vampire.

Afterward some weird beam of light shot into the guardian's heads and played a memory. It was simple scene where Giotto and Cozart met. Obviously they were instant friends and both looked like they had gentle souls. Melaine, after looking into Tenth's head, came to the conclusion that Giotto was slightly younger in this memory than the time she had met him. His face still had a round quality due to youth.

Her response the memory was pure indifference. Who cared what two dead guys were doing a hundred years ago?

Tenths response was very different, "What was that just now! There were images playing in my head! Memories of when Primo and the first Cozart met!"

"I saw it too!" Hayato said looking over to the Tenth.

The Vindice explained that it was the first piece of seven, and after each battle they would get a memory. Tenth hoped that after all the memories they would be able to find out what happened. After Tenth spoke though, the Vindice left, waiting for the next loser to appear.

Melaine looked at Hayato with tears in her eyes. Poor, poor Hayato. He won't be able to bear it when Tenth gets sent to Vindice prison. Melaine knew about the Tenth's nickname 'Loser Tsuna' and how he came in last place at every competition. Shaking her head, Melaine continued with the silent display of distress. Although she faked the dramatic emotion, for a split second the vampire was distracted over the genuine possibility Tenth would lose.

The moment the masked men sank into the ground and disappeared, the Veal began to cry. "WAHAHA! I WANNA GO HOOOME!"

"What the hell you stupid cow! At a time like this? Shut the hell up!" Hayato barked.

The veal continued to cry, "Ryohei got taken away by a bunch of monsters!"

Both Hayato and Tenth looked like someone punched them in the gut. It took a few second before either of them could respond to that harsh truth. It was Hayato who knew what to say.  
>"You're a man aren't you? If you cry anymore I'm goanna beat the snot out of you!"<p>

"Wait! Gokudera-kun!" Tenth said as he held his hands up in an attempt to pacify.

"I know Tenth. I was prepared for something like this."

Hayato reached into his pockets and took out two handfuls of different candy. He squatted in front of the Veal and presented them to him.  
>"Take that! A world six variety of sampler set of candy!"<p>

"Guypo!" The veal whispered with a little drool leaking out of his mouth. "Arara Theres a bunch of different flavors!" The little Veal's eyes got shiny and his face made a dreamy look while he touched one of them with his finger. "Lambo loves all the candy~"

Hayato got a stern expression. He growled. "One at a time!"

Tenth looked at Hayato with a bit of admiration and praised him for calming the Veal. Reborn even made a nice comment about him being prepared. Melaine took all their words into consideration before claiming it would have been better to just beat the snot out of him.

The four of them kept walking with only a little conversation. Eventually, day became night and it was decided that they would camp in the forest. Melaine possessed nothing to camp out with, so Hayato gave her an extra blanket he kept in case there were cold nights here. After all, it was November.

Everyone lied on the ground silently while the hearty fire crackled in the middle. The sky was pitch-black to the extent even Melaine couldn't detect a shred of blue in it. The stars were hidden by the vast darkness, yet the moon still found a way to leak its luminous light. The glow wasn't strong enough to be of any help for the Vongola and their company to see past a few yards in front of them. That was why Hayato made the fire, so that they were able to see their surroundings. The warmth it gave was only a bonus.

Sleep poisoned their eyes and slowly, all of the males let their eyes shut and the soporific spell be cast over them. Awake and brooding, Melaine kept wondering if she had a troubled heart. Or perhaps that hit to the head damaged her mental abilities? After waking up and spending a few hours trapped in that room with Talbot, she had actually felt a little anxious. Only a little…

Words began to tumble out of Melaine, "You know… if you died or something of that nature, there is a strong possibility that my heart would weep for you. I'm very fond of you personally, yet I do envy your naïve goodness to the point I would not wish you without it,"

Melaine took a minuet to wait for a response even though she was aware he could not hear her when sleeping. Eventually, she simply feel prey to slumber as well and remained in ignorance to a response.

It wasn't a verbal one or a completely visible due to the fact he was turned away from her. But silently, with only his lips, the words 'Thank-you' were mouthed on the lips of the Tenth generation Vongola boss.

Melaine slept hard through the night and somehow ignored the little Veal running off on his own in the middle of the night, and everyone one else running after him. Of course none of the boys bothered to wake her up either. So because of that she completely missed out on the comedic fight between the man dressed as a Marshmallow and the Veal.

The boys watch anxiously as Lambo somehow managed to win in his fight against Rauji. Caught up in all the excitement the boys raced back to camp to get their stuff. Together with the attention seeking Lambo the boys barely managed to get all of their things and then head off again. Reborn smirked in amusement as he sat on Tenth's shoulder.

It was several hours later when there was audible and visible explosions from the deep in the forest. Hayato was fighting Shitt.P. The supposed U.M.A made comments and statements at Hayato, trying to dissuade him from the pure devotion he has for the Tenth. When the explosions happened, everyone on the island was aware of it. The dangerous bursts from Hayato and Shitt.P could be heard throughout the small island and so could Tenth's and Enma's argument about the past memories and personal friendships with their guardians.

The blonde hair vampire didn't care about the boss' argument. Melaine didn't care that the mystery was about to be revealed soon. She didn't are that people were being sent to Vindice. She certainly didn't care that Giotto supposedly signed a letter to his most intimate friend with the signature of Vongola Primo.

What she did care about, was that fact she had been left behind by the boys.


	17. sickly

Sorry if this chapter seems forced, it really wasnt. I had fun writing this, but I did a pretty crappy job editing it. I'm sick so I've jsut been laying back and pampering myself insted of editing like I usually do on Sunday. I hate soar throats and a stuffy nose. You should all feel bad for me and review. Lol, well some of oyu may like to know that Melaine's story will soon come to an end. The next chapter will be the last, except for the epilouge and I don't really know if that counts as a chapter. Anyways, because of this I will probably not be posting the chapter on this comign Sunday like I usually do since I want to make the last chapter amazing. Just thought I would let you guys know this... p.s gretest book ever: Nevermore by Kelly Cregh.

Thank you Beta's **The Captain 9009** (once theallmightydee9009),** Serandi82**, and **Shenhui**. Thumbs up and a "Ayyyy!" to you guys. (I have recently discovered the Fonz)

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

><p>Daemon Spade was strolling through the castle, after just leaving Tsuna Sawada and his pathetic guardians. He continued walking down the oversized hallway as he came closer to the room where Enma was at. Details were carved into the sides giving the hallways a more classy look, but none of it brilliance could shine through since it had been unkempt for so many years. Now it was just one more dilapidated hallway in a dilapidated underground castle.<p>

For Daemon, the mist guardian for Primo's reign, it was surprising to find that Adelaide lost the fight and more surprising to find Yamamoto Takeshi was alive and well. This was slightly troubling, but it didn't matter because soon Enma would awaken and annihilate all of them.

Everything was going according to plan. He had planned the current Shimon's family getting killed, just like he had planned the first generation Shimon getting killed in that great Mafia war. Every bad thing that happened to the Shimon family so far was thanks to him in order to create a strong Vongola.

Tsunayoshi Sawada would only weaken the Vongola family with his kind heart; it's why Daemon started his elaborate scheme. It's why Enma, consumed in hate and grief, would destroy Tsunayoshi Sawada.

Daemon Spade briskly walked into the room where he had put Enma. The boy should be consumed by his emotions and the rings by now. His sly smile turned into a miniature smile when hearing a voice in the room besides Enma's. The tone was whiny, but the voice remained smooth besides of some out of control hysteric every now and again. A female's voice; young from the sound of it.

"Hayato and I are done now! He can die for all I care!"

Enma's grotesque voice could be heard in response, "…Tsuna…yoshi…must…kill…"

"Yeah him too." The light voice added.

Daemon opened the large wooden doors and found Enma sitting in his chair looking like Frankenstein as he belongs, and a young pregnant girl sitting on the floor next to him. Looking like Kato Julie (because Daemon had possessed him), he let out a creeping grin and laughs before asking. "Nufufuf what are you~ doing here?"

Melaine put on a pitiful expression, making her eyes glisten with crocodile tears. "I belong to Enma's side after being betrayed by the Vongola."

Another creepy smile came from Daemon/Kaito. "Really now?"

Melaine tilted her head childishly. "Really..."

His eyes turn to cherry slits and gets closer to Enma. "It's fine" he says patting the top of Enma's head, "No one's voice can reach him now anyways."

"Good to know."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile with Ed and Karin…<strong>_

"Hurry!" Ed rushed, and Karin took her eyes off the sky to glare at him.

"You are more than welcomed to fly this yourself."

Ed shrank back and gave a little huff at how snappish she was being. It wasn't his fault that Melaine was on the island; he just wanted to bring her back to safety. And he thought Karin should help.

Karin on the other hand just wanted Ed to shut up. He kept pestering her with silly questions, and it was starting to drive her insane.

Since Melaine wasn't at the castle the Vongola had rented for the ceremony, Ed had immediately freaked out and called Karin. All of a sudden there were non-stop question about 'Where is she? How is she? Is she okay? Is the baby okay? When can we be there by? Are we there yet?'

Of course Karin wasn't answered all of his questions with absolute honesty (and annoyance). Ed didn't take the answers he got very well. It's why they were now on a plane venturing to an island where teenagers are duking it out for their pride.

* * *

><p>The Vongola guardians and Reborn cracked open the grand wooden door, and peaked into the ginormous room. Natsu (the Tenth's sky cat) had run into the underground castle they found. The mid-evil looking castle was bursting with magnificent flames, overflowing with them. The pathway they had been following led them to this cave, and when Natsu ran into the sinister castle, he gave the boys no choice left but to follow.<p>

The decrepit dwelling gave off a sinister feel, but the boys kept their confidence and moved onward looking for the cat. Natsu was found pawing on a door, whining to get in. It was like most of the doors in the castle, plain except for the perimeter which had a carved design on it. There was no handle on the door; it only needed to be push and it would easily give entrance to the room behind it.

"Natsu don't do that!" Tenth scolded and then finally thought to question why his cat was doing it in the first place.

In dreaded curiosity he grasped the handle of the door and pulled it open a little. He took a step forward and tilted his head so he could peak inside. Out of impatience, both Hayato and Yamamoto stuck their head above Tenth's and looked around. What they came upon was an almost empty room. Almost.

With crumbling rocked, the castle was far from its former glory and it was completely bare of any decorations. All of the furniture was gone besides for a chair that looked as if it was molded from the ground it came from. The desolated room was cold and cleared besides for that one chair. And in that grey, stone chair sat a white haired youth. His veins bulged out of his skin, making his face look as if it was cracked on the side. The dark circles around his eyes stood out against his ghost white skin. The beast had drool coming from his mouth and wings made of flames coming from his back. They were the only thing lighting up the dim room.

That being was once Enma Kozato, a gloomy kid with beautiful red eyes.

It horrified Tenth to see his friend like that, so much that he could feel his stomach twist in pain. But that didn't stop his cat from innocently jumping over toward Enma only to stop mid-way and came running back to his owner. The grunt Enma had made scared him.

Tenth tried to rationalize with Enma and rejoice in the fact that Primo had not betrayed Cozart after all as was found out from the previous battle. It was useless though, Enma was as Daemon said, 'beyond words'. The only response Tenth got was a mumbled reply from Enma, before he released his power and hate into a physical force. The Vongola guardians felt the force of it with a flinch.

He was strong, he was hateful, he was completely alone—and Tenth saw that. He was always able to see that.

Without hesitation Tenth promised his companions that Enma was going to be fine. His friends smiled and left it all up to him. Too bad Hibari wasn't his friend.

"What are you talking about?" Hibari said now at the entrance the boys were once at. For the moment his eyes were a tranquil steel blue. "That little runt is my prey."

"You intend _to bite him to death_, I presume? The humor in her tone was audible to everyone, but they were all too taken by her presence to notice.

"HII! Hibari-san! And her too!" Tenth yelled when spotting them in the door way. Hibari was expressionless and relaxed, while behind him Melaine looked worry free while biting into a juicy red apple. Both blue eyes were trained on the Vongola members in front of them.

The cloud guardian was the only one unfazed by her sudden appearance and continued with the subject at hand. "Well, I suppose I can wait for you to be killed first. Afterwards, I'll bite him to death."

Tenth, Hayato, And Yamamoto were all focused on Melaine.

"What are you—" Then Tenth's closed his mouth instantly. Simultaneously Hayato and Tenth looked at each other in realization. Shit.

Melaine puckered her lips before giving them a sharp look. "Things happen when you leave a girl alone in the woods. They get taken hostage." She had let her hair down and it sat on her shoulders like usual, brushed out of her face. The vampire could see them all perfectly and met their gazed one by one. When her eyes fixed on Hayato, she knew all was forgiven. How could she ever be mad at him?

"Oh, Hayato. I could never stay mad at you…" With a forgiving look, Melaine pranced over to him and with a smile while offered some of her half-eaten apple. Hayato declined with a look of disgust. He found it gross to share food.

"Wait." The right hand man said when pushing away the bright red apple. "Why do you have food?"

"I was hungry, why else does on eat?"

The boys began to question her more, but Reborn adverted their attention to Enma. Immediately all their concerns were on him. Tenth tried to get Enma to listen to him, but the kid was still too far gone. The kid's logic had been torn asunder.

Melaine glanced at the Tenth and noted that he looked relatively healthy and alive—not that she cared anyways.

The battle began and everyone quickly learned of Enma's ability to control gravity when he released some strange obstacles onto the field. There were giant metal balls occupying the air and accumulating in size due to Enma increasing their gravity. Because of this power Tenth had a difficult time flying strait or around the giant black ball, and eventually the balls gravity grew so strong it became a black-hole. Desperate and determined, Tenth released his Cambio form with the help of his sky cat in order to escape a black hole that had been sucking him in.

Rocks were flying everywhere, and flames sparked all over the battlefield at random. Tenth flew the best he could, while thing kept flying into his course and narrowly he avoided most of them. Melaine's heart thundered to the excitement from the battle and it skipped a beat when a giant ball of metal was slammed into the Tenth's side.

The idea struck Melaine, that it might have been Enma who caused her moment of weakness at the ceremony a few days ago. Before she could do anything, or even decide her feelings on the matter, something happened—to her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>At the same time with Ed and Karin…<strong>_

"Chill, we'll get there in time." Soothed the dark haired women as her stare was trained on the sky above her.

Ed's eyes were bright and full of worry. Because his emotions were on max, a German accent bled into his voice when he spoke. "This is not the situation for being chill!"

"Yes, because panicking is a much better idea." Karin remarked sarcastically.

The two of them had successfully found the island and were now hovering above it. Karin let out a deep breath and then lowered the helicopter onto a clear and piece of land. Once the aviating machine touched down Ed hoped out and made a dash to the north. Once the engine was turned off, Karin hoped out and shouted to Ed. "You're going the wrong way!"

* * *

><p>The vampire's eyes shifted to her left and then to her right where Hibari stood several feet away. His eyes looked at her from the corners and then glanced downward. He made a sidestep to the right. Repressing back a grimace over what just happened, Melaine slinked her way behind Yamamoto and Hayato, so that she was now on the opposite side of them. Everyone, besides Hibari, was too focused on the fight to notice what had just happened.<p>

Melaine drew her attention back on the fight and watched as a black hole began to grow on Enma's chest. Eventually, the hole grew so bit it threated to consume him, even if he was on the other side of it. By this point Enma seemed to get his consciousness back too.

Even though she was watching the fight, the entertainment she received from it wasn't there anymore. Instead she felt a little sour, she felt sour because she felt awkward and Melaine hated to be uncomfortable (emotionally).

"I'LL SAVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT! MY PRIDE IS AT STAKE!"" Tenth screamed as his intense flames flew into the black hole. For a moment Tenth's flames lit up the whole room, allowing it to brim with light. The light from his flames spread to all of the castle and lit it up like the sun. Melaine saw through the slits of her eyelids that the old, desolated castle looked, for a moment, youthful and shinning. Like it was all those years ago…

Tenth's flames also held a strong force, and it was a good thing that Hayato pulled her close and protected them both with his own flames. Melaine simpered at the action; Hayato is the most thoughtful man in the world.

[WOOSH]

Like a candle the light was put out.

The room faded back to darkness, and thick dust covered the center of the room. Melaine was curious as to where Enma went (The two of them grew close in those few hours they were together). Without pausing, the female shoved Hayato out of her way and sauntered into the dirt. Thanks to her keen eyes, she was able to spot some red and marched over to him carefully.

Getting closer, Melaine observed how his hair stuck up in all different directions, The boy was choking on air, and being the pal she was, hit his back a few times to help. He muttered out some type of thank-you when he had finished coughing.

The Veal's eyes found them first, "GAHAHAHA! ENMA'S GOT BED HAIR!" he pointed and laughed at him cruelly. Melaine looked at the Veal and wondered why he hadn't reacted to her yet; he was pretty upset about the interaction in the sushi shop. 'Eh, I have better thoughts to think about,'

The vampire was completely unaware that Lambo hit his head later that day and forgot all about being bitten.

Enma opened one eye, "Eh?" he questioned dazed.

The boys ran over to him quickly, excited that he was all right. The moment they were within range, Enma began to apologize and despair over what he had done.

Tenth reassured Enma, "It's not your fault."

"Yeah." Yamamoto agreed.

"Daemon Spade was the one responsible." Hayato reasoned.

"Don't worry kid, teenage angst always makes things seem worse than they are." Melaine comforted.

The blue eyed girl had a very different opinion on the matter than the Vongola, but wasn't about to make her new best friend sad. He had listened to all her problems after all. Also, at the moment, she had bigger things to worry about.

* * *

><p><em><strong>With Karin and Ed<strong>_

They ran through the forest and refused to slow down; Karin led the way and reflexively dodged all the trees or obstacles in her way. Ed just copied everything she did and only came out with a few scratches. The couple had landed in the middle of the island so the journey wasn't taking so long for them as it had for the guardians.

Mostly because Karin had a vague idea of what direction they needed to travel in. That little fact helped them a lot.

Ed began to ask, "How much longer unt—

"No."

Karin kept running with her black hair flailing around wildly Ed watched her from behind and his brows furrowed in confusion. Why was she being so snappy at him?

"But—

"You'll find out when we get there." Karin snapped.

The conversation was over now. Not because Karin had demanded for it be so, but because Ed wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ran into a tree. Karin gasped and started laughing hysterically while helping her beau with what was now a broken nose.

* * *

><p>"Hayato~! Will you carry meeee?" Melaine whined.<p>

The said storm guardian barked "Yamamoto's carrying you."

"But I want you to carry me~."

The tall baseball player was holding the pregnant girl as they walked up the steep path. Hayato was only carrying Reborn and the Veal, so that Yamamoto could carry Melaine just like he offered. The cheery kid didn't complain about lifting her up the hill. Sure he was sweating and bleeding a little, but he wasn't going to complain about how heavy she was. Yamamoto was relieved when they reached their destination; so relived, that he nearly dropped the pregnant girl on her back.

They all went inside where they found Mukuro, who had won the fight against Daemon Spade. Apparently, Daemon lifted the barrier so that Mukuro would come save Chrome: and he did. Daemon and Mukuro fought an intense battle of illusion which resulted in Mukuro's favor. They were all happy about this, but that happiness soon disappeared when Mukuro's soul left Chrome's body. Chrome was fine and conscious after he left, but to everyone's surprise and worry, the master illusionist wasn't able to enter his own body. Because Daemon Spade had.

Her interest peaked, Melaine listened in on how this had been part of Daemon Spade's plan. It was his intention from the start to lure Mukuro out of his own body, so that Daemon could take it as his own. It was mentioned that the only body Daemon could fully use to the best of its abilities was Mukuro's, hence why he lured the illusionist out to the island. Since the Mist guardian couldn't enter his own body, he used an owl. Oh, and Kaito Julie now had his own body back.

"Wow," Melaine commented by the rush of information. She hadn't been with Tenth when it was revealed that Daemon possessed Julie or the memories so all of this blind-sided her. However, the sudden appearance of a sinister presence blind-sided her even more.

The blonde vampire tensed up as the Vindice appeared. It was an involuntary reaction and she forced herself to relax despite her body's desire to disobey. Melaine let out a deep breath and listened as the Vindice told them Daemon, using the body of Mukuro, broke out and destroyed some of Vindice prison. Apparently, they were unhappy about it.

The Vindice gave the task of capturing the mafia law breaker to the Tenth and his un-imprisoned allies, in exchange for releasing the members of Shimon and the Vongola. The moment after it was all agreed upon Daemon appeared in in front of them, smug and sinister.

Immediately, what was left of the Vongola (minus reborn) and Shimon attempted to rush in and attack. Before they could however, Daemon was in front of them and with a twist of his wrist, revealed to them, a joker card.

It was an attack.

And they were unprepared for it.

"Tenth!" Hayato shouted while shoving his boss away. He had to protect the Tenth at all costs.

"Run!" Commanded Yamamoto while pushing Chrome out of the way. She was in danger and the only one he could save.

"Enma!" Kaito yelled while forcing his leader to safety. Enma is the only one he has left.

"Hayato!" Melaine cried when she was reaching for him. She might as well reach for someone she likes.

Due to Hayato's push, the Tenth was shoved into Melaine—who in turn was shoved into someone else.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Present time with Karin an Ed<strong>_

"We're almost there." Karin assured when coming upon the clearing. There was only a few people there, none of them Melaine.

"What the hell was that explosion? She shouldn't be around those things in her condition!" Ed was more worried than ever, God knows what she got herself into now.

"She won't be fore long."

Ed stared at her for a moment, watching her gaze carefully. "You were coming after her whether I urged you or not." He stated.

Those onyx eyes stared back boldly, acknowledging the accusation.

* * *

><p>"Ow." Melaine commented, not letting any of the pain into her voice. The stabbing sensation was gone quickly enough. The black haired boy looked at her for moment before observing the space again.<p>

The place was surrounded with what seemed like endless cards, and between the spaced out cards was endless darkness. It reminded Melaine of some virtual designed room.

"Are we in an illusion?" Yamamoto questioned.

With a roll of her eyes, she answered "No, we're at McDonalds."

Scratching the back of his head, he took her sarcasm as a yes to his question. Considering how she was his only company, Yamamoto really hoped that Tsuna would beat Daemon soon. Then it occurred to him what Melaine had previously said.

"Did it hurt coming here?" The Asian boy hadn't felt a thing when arriving.

"Nope."

Looking at her a second, Yamamoto decided he had to ask. "Are you in pain?"

Casually she nodded her head.

"Uh, what's wrong?" he asked, being the nice he is.

The vampire didn't see any reason to hide it. "Nothing, just contractions."

"What!" Yamamoto shouted surprised.

Melaine's shoulders lifted up and down. What else could she do in this situation?


	18. EXTREME!

**This is the finale.**

**I feel so extreme.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own KHR

**PS:** there will be an epilogue and possibly excerpts.

**PSS:** Thank you **Captain 9009** and **Serandi82,** they were my beta's for this chapter.

* * *

><p>A deep exhale of air blew out from a pair of lips. It wasn't a silent breath, nor was it loud. In fact the breath was only audible to the one it belonged to, and she was paying it little attention. It was an easy breath, followed by two more before her air circulation system returned to normal.<p>

A small laugh escaped her lips, as if the pain that had just passed was humorous. Perhaps, in some way it was. Or perhaps madness had come to take her. Yamamoto Takeshi was more inclined to bet on the last one.

Shortly after they were cast into the illusionary world, the two of them had decided (separately) that nothing good would come from panicking or attempting to escape; they would simply have to wait for someone to save them. Somehow, they ended up sitting on the ground together and commenting— not talking but commenting.

Neither of them was fond enough of the other to talk, but neither wanted silence as well. In the illusionary world there was nothing but silence. No chirping of birds, no blowing of the wind, no sign of any life other than them. Utter silence, it was such a strange thing; even Melaine was a bit wary of it. Utter silence, it was such an unnatural thing, even Yamamoto disliked it.

Elevator music would have been better.

"You wounds are leaking," Melaine observed while gazing at the celling.

Yamamoto gave somewhat of a reassuring smile. "It's nothing."

They came back to the silence again. Every time they stopped speaking the silence got a bit louder than it had been before. Yamamoto was even aware of the beating inside him. It was like his head was pulsing violently. How come he never noticed it before?

"I can hear inside my head." He said lightly.

"Me too."

Yamamoto wasn't quite sure how to take that. He fidgeted a bit, and the movement caused Melaine to shrug into a more comfortable position. The two of them had their backs to each other, but Melaine was easily resting her head against his shoulders. Yamamoto was also staring at the celling; it was full of playing cards and never-ending blackness.

The silence screamed again. This time Melaine was the one to fight it off.

"Tsunayoshi seems to be faring well."

Yamamoto snapped to and looked at the girl full on.

"He is alive." She explained.

Yamamoto's brow furrowed. He could tell that much by himself. While this place was silent it didn't completely cut them off from the outside world. He could feel the flames of his friends and enemies. What had prickled his surprise was that she had called him Tsunayoshi. From what he knew, it was a first.

A small laugh tumbled from Melaine's lips again. This time Yamamoto questioned it out-loud; this time Melaine did not use it as a chance to keep the silence away. Instead it clamored once in the room once again. Yamamoto considered humming and was about to do so when a thought struck him: he had nearly forgotten.

"I found two puncture marks on my hand yesterday, just like a bite."

Melaine blinked once but didn't move, "You should get that looked at. It could have been a poisonous spider.'

Their voices faded and the silence reappeared. It was a piercing shriek with no sound; it was one of those shrieks that sent fear rippling up your spine and filled your head with paranoia. It was creepy but it was silent. The whole room was silent, unbearable silent. At least until Yamamoto mumbled 'nikutsu' under his breath.

Melaine forced a smirk. Being called a flesh eating Demon was starting to annoy her, but she couldn't let it show. Still, Melaine understood the underlying message of being called a liar.

"Everyone always assumes I lie," She mused, her minds stretching to years before. Years before she even met Ed. Years before she had killed her uncle and years before she got knocked up.

_Flashback_

_His only acknowledgement of her was a nod of the head and a lingering stare. This Aleksander appeared to have no interest in the conversation, yet Melaine found him pleasing all the same. He was new to this society, yet held no partial emotion to it or its residence. These are the people that attempt to control him and all other purebloods, yet he has perfect indifference to it all._

_"Such elegant words match such an elegant face, yet neither matches your heart." _

_"You claim to know my heart?" Melaine inquired lightly. The idea silently amused her._

_"It does not match what you show."_

_Leaning in a bit closer, her lips brushed together forming sounds, "Is that not the purpose of lie?"_

_His eyes narrowed slightly. "You tease me."_

_There was a small simper, "Only a bit."_

_End-Flashback_

With a blank stare Melaine recalled that being the first time they met, and the first time he called her a liar. She hadn't thought much of him at the time, a boy with no care for the dangers around him—almost asinine but not quite. He was too world weary for that, not to mention far from optimistic.

Melaine's body flinched and took in a sharp breath. Her body was tense but the pain passed after a few seconds. So far it was manageable, so far.

Yamamoto, whose back was against Melaine's, inquired as to what they should do about the contractions and if she could make the contractions just go away. The boy was a hopeless idiot. Not only was he unreliable, he asked such a stupid question. Surely Tenth would rescue them soon…

But what if he didn't? What if he lost?

The idea made Melaine more than a little unpleased. It would be a genuine tragedy if the boy died, even Melaine would (probably) feel the weight of it. Not to mention she would have Yamamoto Takeshi as her only company: forever. The phrase echoed in her head, 'Yamamoto Takeshi, forever, forever, forever… Yamamoto Takeshi….'

The piercing silence shot her thoughts to hell where they became lost forevermore. Her eyes slid to the right before sliding to the left and then looking dead ahead. It was a shifty look. The idea had occurred to her, that with Yamamoto's current condition it would be no surprise if he bled to death. Sad and tragic, but with Melaine in her current condition there was absolutely nothing she could have done to help. The silence began to ring. Not to mention Melaine might consume some of the pain killers while Yamamoto bled out. The silence snapped her thoughts and her patience—again.

"Take me out…" Yamamoto mumbled under his breath. Feeling the need to have someone even less happy than her, Melaine violently elbowed the happy-go-lucky guy's in the back. "Oww." He turned around abruptly to look her in the face which cause Melaine's support beam (Yamamoto's back) to vanish. Her hands stumbled to catch and balance herself, they succeeded, and she had barely escaped that disastrous fall.

"Never the gentlemen?" Melaine questioned with a mean tone. Blonde hair fell against her cocked head as her eyes looked at him in contempt. Yamamoto looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

One pale hand swept away a few stray strands from her face and tucked them behind her ear .A small placid look took hold of her, "You know… if we don't get out in time, You might have to deliver the baby."

To this Yamamoto said nothing.

"Yeah, I thought that might be your response."

There was no vocal reaction to her words and nothing to fend the silence off. Slowly, subtly, slyly, the ringing began again. The ringing came from them; it came from their rushing blood. With no other sounds distracting them, the sound of their moving blood was audible, ringing in their head if you will. The more in tune they were to the rushing blood, the louder it seemed.

Melaine let her eyes flutter shut as she got into the most comfortable position she could without her support beam (Yamamoto's back). She criss-crossed her legs and kept a straight back; a hunched back is a sign of poor etiquette. And if Melaine never spoke, she would have amazing etiquette. However, none of this struck Yamamoto. All he could think about was that he might have to deliver a baby.

There wasn't much Yamamoto could do, so he began to whistle. But Melaine flicked his arm and glowered when the high-pitch noise began to grind on her nerves. She might not have the ability to stop the silence, but she can stop his poorly tuned whistling. So he stopped whistling, but after a few moments began to hum. Melaine didn't mind the humming, or the tune of it. In fact she even knew the song.

Melaine played a little coy about it at first, but slowly muttered out a few audible words from the song. Yamamoto paused for a second then began to hum the melody again. Melaine put in a few more of the lyrics this time. Yamamoto did his best to keep the smug look off his face.

Slowly, he sang the first line.

"Take me out to the ball game"

Melaine turned her head toward Yamamoto's direction and her gaze crept up until it met his. Her voice was soft when it came out: "Take me out to the crowd"

By this point Yamamoto was grinning like a devil and he cheerily added "Buy me some pea-nuts and crack-er Jack,"

Melaine piped in: "I don't care if I never come back"

Together they sang "Let me Root, root - root for the home team, ~"

Their voices grew with loudness and their words with speed.

"If they don't win it's a shame!"

Shouting in unison now,

"For its one!, two!, three strikes -you're out! At the old ball~ game!"

[DEEP BREATH]

….

"Ha-he, ha." Melaine chuckled while running her nails through the front of her hair. Yamamoto had a huge grin on; he was completely and utterly entertained. He never thought she was type of girl to know the song, then again who would? The merriness carried on from there but only for a short while. Not even a full two minutes after they finished their second repeat of the song did the illusionary world disappear.

It was quick like the flash of a camera; it even had the same snap of light. Melaine flinched, her eyes shut in response as they began to tear from it. Less than one second, that's all it took for them to be back in reality. Melaine had a blurred vision of it and blinked her eyes a few times in order to get rid of the tears.

She felt warm drops fall down her cheeks. "Ahh..." Melaine mumbled while rubbing her eyes; they were irritated from that light and having advanced, light seeking vision did not help that situation.

"Melaine!" Yelled a deep voice.

"Here!" She said hopelessly. The blue eyes kept fluttering to wash away the sting effect.

"Melaine!" the voice shouted again, much closer. Melaine stopped blinking and looked at Ed who was now a few yards away from her. 'He always was a fast runner.' She thought idly.

"Yes, Ed?" Melaine answered in a soft voice. Her eyes were feeling better.

"Ar- are you okay?" Ed stuttered; he was taken surprised by her aplomb in this situation. He looked back at Karin, who had trailed behind him. They were both unreasonably calm. Ed didn't like it. He frowned.

"We will depart in just a moment, I need to do something first." Melaine told them and turned toward the Vongola and Shimon. They were all having a tear jerking reunion, each glad to see the other alive and well. Everyone was smiling or crying. The atmosphere was weird; Ed didn't want to intrude. It would be awkward if he did.

Instead he kept to Melaine like a shadow; Ed had been on the verge of an anxiety attack when she disappeared, he wasn't going to let it happen again. Despite the waves of the ocean, singing of the birds, and chit-chat of the middle-schooler, Ed wouldn't relax. He eyed all the middle school students suspiciously, stopping in his tracks when he saw a certain one.

"What the hell is an U.M.A doing here?"

Karin snorted in amusement and lightly shoved Ed's back to keep him moving. He muttered a profanity under his breath and kept walking. Teenagers these days… they're into some freaky shit.

Karin hung onto Ed's right arm as they were walking and leaned her head against his shoulder. Ed was surprised but welcomed the gesture despite the fact they now had about fourteen teenagers watching them with stupid looks on their faces.

"Who are you?" Demanded one of them. He wasn't Japanese looking and was wearing a ring and nasty look on his face. The guy had some kind of lighter in his hand. Ed noticed they were all wearing rings. "Punks…" he mumbled having no respect for the island fighting, time serving, and ring wearing teens.

Ed looked at them and coolly replied, "Ed Amsel, I'm here for Melaine."

The kid glared and looked over to where the pregnant one was kneeling down next to Mukuro's body with Chrome. She was lifting his upper body and hugging it. Her blonde hair covered the view of her face, so they weren't able to see much more than that.

"Melaine," Ed warned his tone a little threatening. He knew exactly what she was doing.

"Are you the father?' Hayato demanded.

Ed's face fell, "WHAT?"

Melaine's mouth busted with laughter and she dropped Mukuro's body. His head landed on the ground with an audible "thud". The vampire turned toward the group and wiped her lips before saying, "Yes, Hayato. He-  
>Is taking me home. Now." She said and gave a forced smile. Melaine didn't show weakness despite the pain.<p>

No one was quite sure what was really going on so when they saw the two strangers (Ed and Karin) walk off with Melaine, they were a little dumbfounded. That is until Yamamoto said: "I hope they get her to the hospital in time."

* * *

><p>Karin was starting the helicopter as Melaine was putting thick headphones over her ears. They buckled her in and then the raven haired pilot carefully maneuvered them off the island. They were sent a signal from the Vongola ships to stop, but it was politely denied.<p>

Ed sat next to Melaine on helicopter; he held her hand and fretted whenever she had a contraction. Melaine's first reaction was to give him a conceited look from all the attention, but it gently folded into a loving one. She didn't smile but her eyes showered warmth on him as she leaned over and pressed her lips to his rough cheek.

"Thank you, Ed."

Ed grasped her hand tighter then murmured, "So close to humanity."

Melaine looked at him and the sun set behind her, casting light to her hair from behind. Those eyes, a frightening blue with two strips of silver, searched into Ed's before turning her body straight and laying back into the seat. A wry expression took hold of her mouth as she spoke to him.

"Humanity is so close to me."

Neither of them said anything more and listened to the beating of the helicopter wings and buzzing from the radio. The ocean they flew over was audible as well but it was like a hum in the background. Neither of them focused on anything, they zoned out of the ordinary world and into the world of their minds. Thinking, pondering, and remembering.

Ed got sick of it and tried to make some kind of conversation. Preferably a light and easy one.

"Soooo, whad you do on the island?"

"Oh, you know, watching, singing all those things that can drive a person mad."

"You sang? About what?"

"Cracker jacks."

Ed gave a considering nod before replying, "Cracker jacks taste pretty good."

Melaine wrinkled her nose in disgust, "You two have the weirdest taste."

"You two?"

Melaine simpered, "Yeah I know someone else who likes them."

_Flashback_

_"You don't disappoint in this form either." Aleksander commented while giving a nod. She could be no older than fifteen by her appearance. Several decades have passed since their meeting. It had been their first and their last— until now._

_"I see your tongue has improved. Tell me; am I allowed in?"_

_He smiled, it was almost a smirk. "Of course. I was just enjoying some cracker jack."_

_Melaine brushed the blonde hair off her shoulders and stepped into his home. It was decorated grandly, but the size of it was not the standard for someone of his blood status. The blue-eyes vampire paid no mind to it and continued with her purpose._

_"Disgustingly American."_

_End-Flashback_

The pain ruined her memory when another contraction took hold of her. She resisted the need to cry of pain and held back her tongue. A clammy hand clenched the tough hand holding it. Ed clenched back in reassurance.

"You're going through the first stage fast." Karin commented from the pilot seat. No one heard her. They both had headphones on.

The hospital made quite a fuss at the unidentified helicopter landing in their parking lot, but Kana Sato(Melaine's Doctor) calmed them down. She took charge of the situation easily, and Melaine didn't resist; there was too much pain in her to resist. Dr. Sato put Melaine into a private room quickly and started asking questions that Melaine didn't like.

It made the whole thing seem too real.

When first finding out about her 'condition', there had been an immediate refusal of it. That was because the odds were so slim; it was only once, it was the first, and her kind had such a low fertility rate. It was unbelievable; Melaine couldn't accept it as the truth. Then they went through tests and sonograms, Melaine still didn't know quite what to think. So she didn't.

It's an unthinkable mistake; one Melaine had recently been scolding herself for. There had been no thought to her condition at all. The only reason Melaine kept it was because Ed insisted upon it. No, he didn't insist, he expected. He started making arrangements with no thought to other options and Melaine went along with it. She didn't think about it, just went with it as if being pregnant was a trivial thing.

Now Melaine couldn't just go with it. The pain of the contractions had gone from manageable to dire and the whole situation couldn't be ignored anymore. It was an all-encompassing kind of pain; the pain only came from one area of her body yet it was so intense that her whole body reacted to it. The hurt was so fierce Melaine began to wipe layers of sweat off her face. Drugs had a minimum effect on her but Melaine demanded them anyways. It made her feel weak to accept the help of medication, but the pain forced her to submit. Kana nodded her head and complied; her nurses gave Melaine the epidural.

After they shoved a needle into her spine, Melaine began to feel that everything happening around her was a blur. By the time she got a grip, the ditzy patient was lying in a hospital bed. Her toes were cold, they really needed socks.

Clad in a standard hospital gown, Melaine was laid down on the hospital bed waiting for anything to happen. A few days ago she had been at a classy celebration looking gorgeous, now she was in pain and in labor. It was quite an adjustment, but Melaine didn't complain— it must have been the drugs kicking in.

Her gaze traveled around the room, taking everything in with a cynical view. The place had cheap, plastic blinds which lifted up by a string and gave a terrible view of trees along with the sky. It was fairly clouded out and the sunshine was starting to die, the last shred of it peeking into Melaine's room. The medicated patient glanced over to the plastic night stand where there was a box of tissues next to an open silver pocket watch. After an argument about the hideous clock (which was the exact same color of Shitt. P's eyes) in Melaine's room, Ed left his pocket watch for Melaine to keep time with. The machine's hands indicated it was around seven o'clock, two hours since she left the island.

The bull's eyes glass was smudged and cracked, proof it had been used over the years, but the little black hand continued to tick and tock without fail. The smaller one traveled around the numbers quickly, pausing only for a second at each one. The noise was consistent and low, Melaine liked it.

With a flick of her wrist the metal lid snapped shut. It made a click, and then sealed itself.

The cold metal pressed against her palm as the drug-induced female lifted the watch from the wooden-looking night stand. Her grip tightened and the round edges dung into her hand. The lid was plain silver besides a small engraftment of a German eagle and a name. Theodor Amsel

Dr. Sato came into the room and greeted Melaine with a smile. Her brown hair was in a neat updo again. The patient smiled back after observing the doctor push the thin wire-glasses up her nose in hopes they would stay in place this time. Melaine knew it was a vain hope. Kana's glasses were always slipping.

The medical professional asked her a few questions, took a look at the charts, checked on her and the baby's heart rate, looked at how dilated she was, and left just as quickly as she came. The willow figure dressed in a white coat walked out the door right before a muscular figure dressed in a blue shirt into it. It was Ed, back from the house.

"I got everything you asked," he promised. In his hands was a used backpack full of miscellaneous things. He moved over to the chair next to Melaine's bedside and plopped himself down. Ed leaned over to open the bag and Melaine watched as his dark blue shirt stretched with his limbs, it was made of a thin material. He looked more maternal than her in the shirt.

Melaine told him this and a flash or red crossed his cheeks. Blushing only made him look more like a sissy, Melaine had to shake her head in disappoint meant. So uncool, and she only hangs out with cool people.

The bag was opened and Ed pulled out its contents. First he laid out some Gorillaz C.D's, two t-shirts, two stretch pants, extra minty gum, a tooth brush, a pair of socks, and one hair brush. He lined them up neatly on the edge of the bed for Melaine to see and be thankful for.

"None of this is what I asked for." Melaine stated.

"That's not true!" Ed protested. "I got you the mint gum!"

"I asked for more than mint gum."

Ed rolled his eyes, "You do not need a whistle. Lord, knows what you would do with it."

"Listen, just go back to the house get me a whistle, sunglasses, and a bottle of wine."

Ed argued with her, especially over the last request. Melaine claimed there had never been a situation where she needed it more, while Ed claimed the exact opposite. Their faces contorted and twisted into weird expressions at each other as their shouting continued. It was silly argument, interrupted when Karin snuck into the room.

They looked up as they heard the door's hinges squeaked upon movement. The tanned-skinned women shot a warm look toward Ed and a curious one toward Melaine. Her eyes looked a little tired with circles below them, but her demeanor was guarded. The swordswomen sat down on the bench before asking about Melaine's progress. Ed was the one who answered her. That guy had stayed by Melaine's side ever since they arrived at the hospital, only leaving to get her stuff and to take pee breaks.

"She's been driving me crazy."

Karin sniggered at him. "What's a fight between friends?"

"Trust me, the friendship isn't based off any pleasant emotion." Ed said dryly.

_Flashback_

_As they walked away from the group which had suddenly accosted them, he asked Melaine as to why she called the man Uncle; in response he received an answer in the form of a question: "What else shall I call a man who I lived with for so long?"_

_He questioned her questioned, "Friend?"_

_"That would imply some type of pleasant emotion or bond in our relationship."_

_His cherry wood eyes connected to her ocean-blue ones, and Melaine wondered why they suddenly seemed unusual, different. Dismissing his glance as unimportant she turned away from it. The gesture wasn't noticed at the time, but subconsciously it was her gaze which broke first._

_End Flashback_

"Déjà vu," Melaine murmured while blinking twice.

Apparently, the drugs weren't completely working to their full potential due to her body processing them so fast. Yet the pain was somewhat numbed out, just not completely. So, when another contraction hit her Melaine grimaced and grabbed the sheets on top of her. They were white sheets, crinkled by Melaine's.

Melaine, who had little to no care there was company in the room, lay back down and closed her eyes. The drugs made her really sleep, as if she would slip unconscious at a moment's notice. She had been fighting the urge to succumb for a while, but her stamina had slowly been diminished by the drugs over the last hour or so. The medication nibbled away at it, and without noticing, Melaine fell into pitch-black bliss.

During the time she slept, many things passed through her mind. There were strange things, like a melody she had never listened to before. There were pleasant things, like the touch of warm water against her skin. And there was annoying things, like bad dreams.

The man she had called Uncle was there, taunting, daunting, and haunting.  
>Every time she attempted to kill him, she would fall and then he, escape. Every time she fell, she wept, but then got up and tried to kill him again. He would just walk backwards, taunting, daunting, and haunting.<br>Tears flowed from her eyes and her arm moved in a jabbing fashion right before she fell again, but this time the crying girl didn't hit the ground. The floor was several inches away from her face, and she couldn't quite comprehend what happened. The young lady looked up, still crying and saw a pale face with warm cherry-wood eyes. He gave a smile while the wispy hair danced around his face.  
>This caused the young madame to stop weeping and realize her surroundings. She was in one kind of vast room where darkness loomed in the corners, preventing the sight of any walls. The flooring was made of some kind of square tiling, a dark purple. In the tiling she could see the reflection her old and new self.<br>There were signs of her former beauty with a slender stomach and youthful body; however, there were also parts of her that had aged too. Such as her face which had more womanly charm now and less of a juvenile look to it. Much more like her dead sister's. Those eyes still sparkled in some unearthly light, capturing a common if not implacable blue and sterling silver.  
>The vampire was dressed in some kind of simple white dress. It was much like the early nineteen hundreds with its length and texture. It fluttered when she moved, and Melaine felt free in it, nothing pressing against her except at the chest and shoulders.<br>Melaine couldn't stop staring at herself, like Narcissus, she was drawn to her reflection, compelled to have its company, its gaze upon her own. The only time she took notice of anything else was during the end of the dream, when she saw the reflection of Uncle come up behind her and Aleksander before killing them both.

"Alek!"

Melaine awoke in a panic, feeling the tears running down her face and the sweat running down her neck. The monitor was showing rate her heart racing and the clock in her hands showed evidence of being destroyed. Ed's pocket watch was crushed in her grasp; it was no longer ticking, no longer tocking. Ed had once told her it was gift from his mother.

She set the metal object down on the nightstand where Ed left the bag with its contents inside. Taking a few deep breaths, her heart fell back to a normal, healthy rate. A nurse came in and inquired and checked on Melaine's health even after she was told that the abnormal heart rate had come from a nightmare. The nurse informed Melaine of a few things and then went off to get Dr. Sato.

Ed was asleep on the bench beneath the window, there was a thick blanket on top of him and drool beneath him. Melaine's suppressed whimper of pain didn't wake Ed, but a pillow being thrown at his head did. He cracked open a sleepy eye only to shut it and fall asleep again. Useless.

Melaine turned her head, noticing Karin's presence outside the door. Melaine told her to come in and then she did, black mane blowing behind her. She was wearing a different outfit from earlier; she wore light jeans and some grey T-shirt with a hoody over it and a black jacket over the hoody. Karin's eyes glanced to Ed's passed-out figure then turned to Melaine. "The nurse said your seven centimeters."

"How long have you been guarding me like some defenseless princess? Or am I being guarded like a dangerous prisoner?"

Karin looked a little tired, but kept her aura of aplomb. "Regardless you are being guarded."

Melaine let out a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. She asked, "Do you think we should wake up Ed for the big show?"

Karin raised an eyebrow. "You think he could sleep through it?"

The two exchanged glances and simultaneously answered. "Yes."

Karin woke up Ed, told him she would be outside getting an iced coffee, and then left. The door made a soft slick as it shut and the silver handle lifter back up to place. It stopped only two centimeters from being a perfect one hundred and eighty degrees. A light glinted over the handle from the florescent light above them.

"Ed, fix the door handle."

He gave her an incredulous stare, some of his blonde hair fell out over his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Giving a pointed look, Melaine strengthen her gaze, "The handle is not strait, go straighten it."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No" He stated firmly.

"YES."

'Not happening, I'm not gon—"

"Go."

Ed grumbled and crossed his arms, "Fine."

He got up from the bench and went over to the door with sleep crumbs in his eyes. Ed reached for the door knob and just as his hand touched the door; it was swung open and pounded his broken nose. "FICK!*"

Ed held his nose up and it was streaming blood. The pain was apparent all over his face which was just a bloody mess. The blood was everywhere, really gushing and Melaine laughed at him. "Verpiss dich!*" He swore at her. He stopped speaking any language besides his primary one: German. Several curses spit from his mouth as blood dripped down it.

Dr. Sato, who had opened the door, gently tried to look at Ed's nose. He was pulling away from her and holding the injury up, as if that might stop the bleeding. Ed was taken out of the room for his nose to be looked at by a doctor; it was Dr. Sato's request. After being slammed into a tree and then a door, Ed's sniffer had gone through a very rough day.

Kana (the doctor) began to ask Melaine if she was ready to go; there was a nod in response. Melaine was put in a wheel chair and carted off to the delivery room. Dr. Sato began to assure her that it would be a bit (an hour) until she could go back to her private room—with the baby.

There was a hysterical laugh.

"Oh, the irony!"

_Flashback_

_The room held little to know light, yet both Aleksander and his female companion saw the room perfectly. Sitting together on the coffin, Aleksander gave her a daunting smile which she returned._

_"Three months." Melaine promised._

_Sliding off the coffin Aleksander stood up and pulled the girl to him in one single movement. She willingly closed the space around them while their lips met for a few moments. After a deep look into his cheery wood eyes, she whispered "Three mouths,"_

_It was the female vampire who opened the coffin, yet the male vampire who laid in it. It was also she who closed the lid and sauntered out of the basement. He woke up a few months later and Melaine wasn't there._

_A little later he found out that she had 'died'._

_End-Flashback_

Melaine's face fell as she remembered that particular memory. Loneliness seemed apparent for the first time since she left him. Karin was getting a drink, Ed was getting his nose fixed, and Melaine was getting pushed to the Delivery room. No one was by her side, but she didn't request that any would be.

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><p><strong>Two hours later…<strong>

One weak balled fist thrust at the air. A little curled foot kicked at anything. The tiny wrinkled face scrunched in discomfort. Two whimpers were given. Two eyelids were fluttering. The small vampire squirmed in the blanket.

"It's for the best…no one will question **his** name."

"Agreed but what of your two witnesses that know too much?"

"The willing servant will be killed; the other one can't do anything."

"Ed's coming; I'll go take care of a few arrangements. Make the flight for next week."

The newborn reacted to the noise and began to whimper. The mother reacted to the whimper and began to sooth.

Everything had changed. There were no more risks. There were no more chances. There would be no more danger. There would be no more games. There would never again be a bite of the mafia…

* * *

><p><strong>Two more hours later…<strong>

The room was vacant of light besides for the beams sneaking in from under the door. There was enough of a glow that you could make out the features of the room but not the colors; it was much too dim for that. Too familiar figures lied on the bed. The sheets, wrinkled, ruffled, and rippled were strewn over the mattress in an uncalculated fashion. No one in the room breathed a word yet noise snuck in anyways.

There was a small crowd outside the hospital room which Melaine was currently staying. Their voices were loud, cheery, and a little drunk, as they celebrated the event with apparent glee. It was a small group, consisting of Ed, Jezebel, Eleazar, and Tsuyoshi. The happiest of them all and not afraid to show it, Ed, had been in such a good mood that he bought them all sake.

The deep echoes of his voice boomed into Melaine's dark room and comforted her in a strange way. His voice nearly over-powered Jezebel's; whose own was soft and merry. The whore had a soothing voice not quite equipped for being as loud as it was. From the conversation, one was able to find out that she had been accompanied by Eleazar to the hospital once they heard the news about Melaine.

In the private hospital room, there was a haggard looking patient and a sleepy looking visitor. They were lying together on the bed as a pair of sharp teeth punctured a vein on Karin's neck. The blood leaked from the wound and promptly fell into the vampire's mouth upon sucking. It was such an easy and simple process.

The birth had left Melaine parched, in need of a liquid more satisfying than water. Karin didn't even need to be asked. Everyone outside the room was told that the exhausted patient was in the middle of resting; it had been a good excuse. Melaine was able to feed and the party was able to party—away from each other.

Even Tsuyoshi, who had only meant to stop by, was celebrating with them. The sushi-man heard of Yamamoto's (his son's) miraculous recovery and hurried over to the hospital. Upon arriving, he found out from Karin that Yamamoto was with his friend and that Melaine had just had a healthy baby boy.

So on that note they all drank to little Blaye. Ed drank not knowing that it had been his name put down on the birth certificate. Eleazar drank not knowing that he would be accompanying his master and Blaye to France in a weeks' time. Jezebel drank not knowing that in three days' time she would be killed by Eleazar under Melaine's order. Melaine drank not knowing that Karin had called up Aleksander and wished him congratulations on the birth of his son.

Karin was the only one who didn't drink.

The laughter and sound quieted down outside as the small part was all shooed out by some nurses. Melaine pulled away from Karin's neck and rested her head on a pillow. The vampire was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Those bright blue eyes disappeared under falling eyelids as black lashes embraced each other and pale lips parted slightly. Melaine fell into a light sleep.

Karin slid off the bed and stepped onto the tile floor. It only took a few steps to reach the bench under the window and crouch onto it. The wooden bench creaked under her weight as she moved into a comfortable position to sleep on. There came a bit of noise from it, but Melaine didn't wake.

Pressing her head against the cushion, she spoke in a low, clear tone. It was one single prayer, invoked with the thought of so many people.

"Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take."

A silence loomed when she stopped speaking, as if there should have been some response to her words. Finally, the rustling of sheets could be heard.

"When did we become Christian?"


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The grounds were quiet excluding the brushing of the wind and the rustling of the grass. It was close to winter. Snow had yet to fall but the cold air and the dead plants alluded that the season had almost arrived. The wind was strong that night; it ran across the landscape spreading a subtle chill. That was the only noise though, the rustling wind and the brushing grass. The footsteps on the plain were inaudible.

On top of the dying green there was a cottage, large and a bit grandeur but nonetheless it was a cottage. The dwelling was made of stone and painted the color of a white eggshell; the roof was a dark color, maybe blue maybe black. Like any modern home it has curtains, furniture, and people. The curtains were heavy and blocked any light from the outside from coming through; the furniture was neat and free of any unsightly stains, and the people, well the people were beautiful. Currently there were only two inside the cottage but sometimes there was three.

There was a woman, fair skinned and a little shapely. She possessed an ideal waist, as if she had worn a corset for many years and unblemished skin as if she had never been marked by any unsightly imperfection. Soft hair, the color of sunshine hung around her face. It was cut short, just below her jaw. The hair drew more attention to the valued features on her face, such as high cheek bones and thick black lashes which framed her eyes—stunning blue eyes with a ring of silver on the corner.

There was also a boy, young and vulnerable. He was no older than three and rested on his small bed, unaware of the danger that lurking outside. Dark blonde hair laid flat on his head and soft flesh covered his little body. He slept like the dead, oblivious to the world.

Neither of them made much sound, at least not enough to be heard from outside. Melaine busied herself with a letter as her son took a nap. Since moving to France, they had been on a normal vampire sleep schedule. When the sun leaks into the sky above, the curtains were to be drawn and the beds to be slept in.

The footsteps of two men were silent as they traveled up the plain and toward the house. Melaine continued with scripting black ink against a piece of paper. It was a detailed letter, and the first sentence was almost completed.

Her hand lifted from the paper, satisfied.

Rising from the wooden stool, Melaine left her things at the desk before going to the front door. The men had gotten much closer now. With a sigh, the pureblooded vampire unlatched the iron locks and pulled the iron handle. The wooden door opened with a creak.

The two eyes spotted her figure in the door-way. Immediately they began to retreat in different directions. Their footsteps could now be heard as they calmly ran away.

One loud 'Tisk' was sounded.

Melaine gave chase.

Faster than them both, the first one was reached within seconds. His vocal cords were torn out of his throat and then in one movement shoved so far back that they penetrated the other side of his neck: it was a quick death. His corpse was left to rot, someone (Eleazar) would clean it up later.

The next one took a bit more time but in the end he was caught easily as well. Yet he was not killed immediately.

Melaine snapped the bone of one leg and held both hands in one grip. She commanded him to explain how he found her. There was no answer. Fangs were ripped out of her gums then into the man's neck.

She tore at his neck with them while taking in large amounts of blood. The man tried to fight her off, but he was powerless to. Eventually he let told her, but it was lie. Melaine kept ripping away at his neck. Having your neck torn away is a terrifying experience, the man broke quickly. He told her everything. Melaine continued to rip away at his neck until there was nothing left. Melaine continued to rip away at his neck until he was dead.

"It has been weeks since a decent meal." She commented. His body lied motionlessly and bloodlessly on the ground. It wouldn't be good if Blaye saw the corpses.

Eleazar would come tomorrow and deliver her letter to Aleksander, who in return would write and send one back. The letter would include information about the men and how they came to find her. How close they came to finding her son. It would be a letter telling him what needs to be done.

As Melaine strolled back toward the house, she noticed that the cottage shone luminously in the moonlight. It was a pretty sight, one that tempted her to stay and gaze at it. But the temptation was ignored and she went inside to finish her letter. Temptation no longer held the appeal it once did.

Coming into the house, Melaine shut the door and latched the locks as she always did. Quietly, as not to wake him, Melaine snuck inside of Blaye's room and peaked at his sleeping form. His chest rose and fell at an even pace; making her feel reassured of his well-being. With only a little sound, the mom closed the door and went back to her desk. Taking a seat on the wooden stool, Melaine began to write.

She wrote about the men and what one had said, but she also wrote about Blaye. She wrote about how sly and silly he was. He looked more like Aleksander as he grew and how his eyes were the same blue as her eyes but had no silver in them at all. They were identical to her dead sister's eyes. Melaine kept writing little details of life that once did not matter to her and left out little details that no longer did.

She would have kept writing but was interrupted by footsteps in the hallway.

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

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><p><strong>lol, I feel a little giddy, but I won't name this chapter giddy. And in case you haven't recognized it yet, I name all the chapters how I feel the moment I'm posting them. Thank you everyone who had ever reviewed: Captain 9009<strong>,** Maxx**,** Flower power.u know u lik it.**,** Midnitsune**, and** ausumist (it was an accident, sorta). This is a taste of Melaine's life. EVeryone feel free to ask or comment about something you don't understand. Also feel obligated to review.**


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